The Most Free
by Origm2012
Summary: Two brothers and their crew will try and navigate the world out on the sea. They'll encounter crew mates, enemies and a society that doesn't want people to act. An SYOC story.
1. Welcome Home

**Author's Note**

Good day to everyone reading this story. I'd like to take a moment to say how grateful I am to everyone reading this story. If you're here from another one of my stories then welcome. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're reading this story. If you're new to my writing, then I'm pleased to have new readers.

I've been working on this idea for a while. I hope I don't disappoint.

For reference I've become accustomed to dating sections of any particular chapter. The year mentioned at the head of each section will describe the amount of years since Gol D. Roger was executed. If you read two sections that have the same time-stamp that means that both segments occurred at the same moment in different areas.

* * *

**March 1, XX99, 11:00 A.M, North Blue Sea**

A small boat drifted through the North Blue. It was barely big enough for one person to fit in, but as its current occupant was nearing his destination he didn't care much about the problems his transportation had posed for him.

There in the lone boat, sat a young man. His short, black spiked hair drooped from the sweat that saturated it. The lightly tan skinned man, who was currently scanning the horizon for the piece of land he knew to be ahead of him, was drenched in sweat. Normally he wore a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but the heat had forced him to disrobe to a spare pair of shorts and a white tank top. Other than the spare pair of clothing on the boat, he had a newspaper and two swords lying beside him. One was a pure white broadsword and the other was a black katana.

He reached for the newspaper and read the headline once again for the thirty or fortieth time since he had begun sailing from Skypiea.

"Pirates ravage the Grand Line once more," he read aloud to no one.

He dropped the newspaper to his side and a smile broke out on his face. Up ahead he could make out the silhouette of the island that he had once loved.

"No time like the present," he said as he changed into his preferred attire and prepared to swim the rest of the way. "I'll make you proud dad. I'll end this age of piracy before it begins."

* * *

**March 1, XX99, 11:00 A.M, An Island in North Blue**

"998…999…1000," counted a tall young man as he finished his morning set of punches.

His black and white tropical shirt lay on the ground beside him as he completed his routine. His long dark cyan hair was held back in pony tail. Before him were the remains of several punching bags. As he was shirtless now, the scars that littered his tan skin could be seen. Numerous cuts and bruises had been made over the course of his life of training. All of his muscles were now etched with remnants of battles.

He was looking around the training grounds for another punching bag, when a voice called out to him. "Cain! Cain! Pick up the snail already!" it shouted.

He put on the tropical shirt and without buttoning it he reached into his white cargo shorts and pulled out a snail transponder.

"Yo, Auron," he said casually in his deep voice. "It's a little early for you to be calling. You finished your workout already?"

"No! There's a ship on the horizon!" yelled the voice through the transponder.

Cain's eyes went wide and he dashed out of the training grounds immediately. "I'll head past Anca village immediately," he said before hanging up and running onto the forest path ahead of him.

Cain knew all too well that any ship coming here now was either a recruiter from the Marines or the Asuachi and as it stood, he didn't want anyone making up his mind for him.

He burst through the forest onto a beach path which he knew would lead him to Auron. After another minute on the path, he was running on the sand towards a man who had grown from a stranger to his brother over the last 15 or so years.

Before him now stood a lean, fair skinned man. He stood a few inches shorter than Cain at a height close to six feet. He too had faced a lifetime of training which resulted in a muscular form which was partially hidden by his black sleeveless coat which ended just past his knees. Underneath the coat he wore loose beige pants that were held up by a black sash around his waist. The ends of his pants were tucked bandages that wrapped around his calves and the top most part of his black boots.

"Where's the ship?" asked Cain as he scanned the beach.

"Right over there," said Auron evenly as he pointed to a tiny boat sitting a few hundred yards off the beach.

Cain's jaw dropped at the sight of the boat. "You called me here for this," he said as a look of confusion spread across his face. "I thought a recruitment ship had made its way here."

Auron scratched his head in bewilderment and then simply said, "You said to tell you if I saw a ship."

Before Cain could respond there was a loud splashing as something jumped out of the water. Auron drew the simple katana he kept sheathed at his waist and Cain shifted into his stance as they scanned the water for the source.

"Ahh, Aurelia Island," said a voice from behind them. "What are you two looking for?"

They turned to face their surprise visitor and both of them stood shocked at who stood before them.

"Kisaro!" they yelled in unison.

"Yup. How you been little cousins?" asked Kisaro as he adjusted the broadsword on his back.

"Did you sail here in that tiny boat?" asked Auron.

"Yup," replied Kisaro. "I've come to see grandpa and then I'm off to enlist."

"Enlist?" asked Cain as his eyes widened. "So you're deciding to go along with this destiny crap?"

Kisaro smirked at his younger cousin's view on their family business. "I don't care much about destiny, but I think joining the Marines is a good way to help people. I don't have time to talk though, so I'll head over to grandpa and catch up with you guys later."

He paused as he decided on what to do next.

"Anca village is that way," said Cain as he realized why his cousin had lingered.

Kisaro gave a quick head nod and headed away from them.

"Can you believe this guy?!" shouted Cain. "He's back and the first thing he does is go and enlist. He's just like grandpa."

Auron watched his friend for a moment before speaking. "You know grandpa's not so bad. Even though your dad took me in back then, when he left, grandpa let me stay."

"Well, no. He's not heartless," admitted Cain. "But he's got some nerve telling me it's my duty to carry on the family tradition of Marines."

He turned to his Auron and continued. "He's been pushing me to eat that devil fruit," yelled Cain. "He says that it'll jumpstart my career once they see that and the skills that grandpa taught in his dojo."

"But you know," said Auron. "Having a devil fruit power isn't so bad."

"It's different for you Auron. You've had that fruit since before you even washed up here. It's been with you, your whole life."

Cain thought back for a moment. 15 years ago, he and his father had been out fishing in open water, when they noticed Auron's body floating along on a piece of driftwood. Cain's father immediately rescued him and brought him to shore. They cared for him and eventually he was back to full health. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there, but one thing did remain from his life before them. At some point in his childhood he had eaten a devil fruit.

"Nope," said Cain as he came back from his thoughts. "If you end up drowning again, how am I supposed to help you if I can't swim?"

"Good point I guess," said Auron unable to punch holes in the logic.

"Right," continued Cain. "Back to the plan. With Kisaro back, grandpa is sure to try and get you and I to enlist alongside Kisaro. So, if you're up for it. We'll sneak out tonight and leave this island."

Auron raised his blade in anger. "I already told you. There's no need to feel like your forcing me to go. I want to see the world, just like you and plus," he paused to sheath his blade before continuing. "We're family."

A smile broke across Cain's face. "Alright then brother, let's get re-"

"Ahhh!" screamed a woman's voice from nearby.

The brothers gave a quick glance and were dashing down the beach towards the voice.

* * *

**March 1, XX99, 11:30 A.M, Anca Village, Aurelia Island**

Kisaro walked through military town. On the outskirts it was a simple fishing port. As the outskirts were passed, one entered a town with uniform stone buildings. Kisaro was making his way to the center of the town. There he would find the Ryuden Dojo. A place specialized in the training of swordsmen, rokushiki users and an array of hand to hand specialists from around the world. But above all that he would find his grandfather; the current grandmaster of the dojo which had been passed down throughout his family history.

He passed through an inner border of Anca Village. This border signified that he was currently within the dojo territory. To accentuate this change, the territory took on a golden hue. The simple stones from before were now coating in a light coat of bronze and the walls were a warm red shade. Along the walls, words were etched in to remind students of the purpose of all they were learning. Honor. Discipline. Justice.

The long walkway up to the central room passed quickly and before he knew it he was being led into his grandfather's private study by a student.

He slid open the doors and immediately bowed before taking a seat on the beige tatami-matted floors.

"Grandmaster Wako. It's a pleasure to be back," he said quickly.

An elderly man walked towards him slowly. His eyes were rounded and despite his age he showed no signs of physical deterioration. He stood tall and firm. While he wore a black haori with white embroidery, he also had on a pupil's outfit. It was his way of saying, that no matter the age, we should all be learning.

Kisaro could feel the intense glare and when the old man was no more than a foot from Kisaro, it felt as if the sky was bearing down on him. They stayed like this for a few minutes and then Kisaro's determination was broken by a loud cackling noise. He looked up to see the elderly man in uncontrollable laughter.

"You come back after so long and don't address me as a grandpa," said Wako playfully as he picked up his grandson by his collar and smothered him a hug.

"N-no," said Kisaro as he struggled to breath. "I mean I'm 25, but I just didn't want to be rude."

"You. Rude. Ha!" he said jokingly as he took a seat and poured water for them to drink. "If you think you're rude, then you should see your cousin."

He handed the glass to Kisaro and continued. "Once he and Auron get going, they're the worst knuckleheads I've ever seen."

"Are those the dial sword you made in Skypiea?" asked Wako.

"Yes," he said quietly. "The broadsword was forged from impact dials and the katana from heat dials."

Wako smiled at his grandson. "We teach many sword styles here, but it's always engrained in the students head to develop new variations on the basics we teach. I'm curious to see what you came up with."

Wako saw the immense seriousness on Kisaro's face and had a quick outburst. "Spit it out!" he snapped. "You've obviously got something on your mind."

"Why did you send for me?" asked Kisaro. "Wasn't it you who banished me and my father?"

Wake eyed his grandson and chose his words carefully. "I won't deny you the truth, but I find it hard to give you answers and not tarnish the memory of your father."

He took a sip of water and continued, "Once in every generation, a pupil of the grandmaster must take up the mantle and learn the grandmaster's sacred style. By an odd coincidence, the child of the grandmaster is usually gifted with this ability as it isn't one that can be learned. So like my father and his before him, we were able to pass on this knowledge. However, neither of my sons had this ability. But they were both gifted with a sword. They enlisted in the army and when they returned. Your father and his skypiean wife came here. She was pregnant with you and while he initially thought I would be mad at him, I was overjoyed at the idea of a grandson and a daughter."

They exited the room and Wako led him to the inner compound where they could walk and continue the story.

"Your father, my eldest son, believed that he deserved to be the next grandmaster if no justifiable heir could be found. Now Cain's father didn't care one way or the other. But in one I saw the potential of a rambunctious teacher and in the other I saw someone who would snuff out a pupil's desire to learn."

Wako paused to look over his grandson and when he had seen enough he continued. "As I'm sure you know, he would have been quite the general."

For Kisaro, it was a lot to take in, but when Wako put it like this he could understand. His life had been stressful to say the least. He was often seen as a half-breed on the sea and back in Skypiea his father was a volatile combination of strict and bitter.

They had walked into a serene park area that resided in the center of the dojo. They took a seat on a bench made of oak and remained silent for a bit. His grandfather sighed before continuing.

"The worst part was, Cain's father didn't accept the position. So your father leaving was for nothing."

"Yeah," said Kisaro. "We heard about it."

Wako could see that this conversation had the effect he predicted, so he decided to turn the conversation to the matter at hand.

"So you've decided where you'll be joining?" asked Wako.

Kisaro perked up a bit and shook his head. "Yup, I'll be joining the marines," he said excitedly.

Wako looked at the young man that his eldest grandchild had grown into and was proud. He laughed happily and called for someone to get something to drink so they could celebrate.

"Our entire family has served in the Marines," he said as he poured sake. "I was born around the same time as Monkey D. Luffy. I used to hear stories about Gol D. Roger and then the stories slowly shifted to Luffy after he became the second Pirate king."

He turned to see the look of awe in Kisaro's face and then continued his story. "You'd think as a marine I'd have hated him, but he was something else. You couldn't really hate him."

"So he really found the One Piece?" asked Kisaro. "That was 65 years ago, and no one knows for sure. The only thing that can be said for certain is that he made it to Raftel. On his way back he and his crew had supposedly had a rare flower on their ship that's only found on Raftel. They were hunted by the world government out on the open sea. When the Gorosei saw that they had made it to Raftel, they chased them to the ends of the Earth. Rumor has it Luffy and Zoro went down with the Thousand Sunny."

They got up after drinking and headed towards the edge of the compound.

"There are other rumors. After Luffy died, people added the ship to their list of possible locations for the One Piece in hopes of succeeding Luffy. But it didn't matter. There was a coup in the Gorosei and the last generations of leaders were killed off. The next regime deemed the Marines incompetent. They recalled all of their private officers and Cipher Pol agents and reorganized them into 5 units which comprise the organization we now call the Asuachi. Why didn't you want to join the Asuachi instead of the Marines?"

Kisaro thought for a moment. "I'm gonna make my dad and this dojo proud. The Asuachi are just legalized criminals. I'll admit some marines are terrible, but the Asuachi handle all of the World Noble and Gorosei personal situations no matter how dark. I met one of their bishops in Skypiea and he was on orders to drag a skypiean back as a slave. They do as they please and in exchange they've cut ties with the marines."

Wake had a proud smile etched into his face now. If only Cain and Auron shared your enthusiasm," he sighed. "One of the Asuachi's highest ranked members, a saint, came by attempting to recruit Cain because they caught wind that he had inherited my ability."

"What do you mean they're not as enthusiastic?" asked Kisaro with a hint of anger to his voice.

"15 years ago, a man named Carver D. Buster challenged the entire world. Piracy had been all but dead for years and then he told the world that he would find Monkey D. Luffy's resting place and rushed into the New World. He was slaughtered there, but his death ignited a fire in people once more. Cain's father left some time after to see more of the world and I'd imagine Cain also wants to see the world now since he has no interest in joining the Asuachi or the Marines."

"No worries, I'll go talk to them," said Kisaro.

"Before you go, I've got something for you. It was originally supposed to be the next grandmaster's, but I'm certain that no matter what, Cain and Auron will find themselves on the sea just like their father."

A pupil brought over a chest to Kisaro and Wako. When Wako opened the chest, he pulled out a blue circular devil fruit with stripes and handed it to Kisaro.

"Whether or not you eat this is up to you," he said in a matter of fact voice.

* * *

**March 1, XX99, 11:30 A.M, Beach, Aurelia Island**

Cain and Auron raced up the beach towards the sound of the voice they had heard. They found a short girl with long blue hair and matching eyes. She was wearing a cloak, but presently a large man behind her was tearing at it. He was bald and had a sinister smile on his face. He was a tall man with a gaudy green shirt that was covered in dirt and brown pants with matching boots. In his right hand was a pistol and on his waist was a saber.

"Let her go!" shouted Cain. "There's no reason to treat a lady like that."

Behind the man, stood several dozen men dressed in a similar fashion. One of them yelled from the crowd. "Move on if you don't want any trouble. This here is our boss, the million beri bandit Braice. The whole crowd cheered behind their leader, who now wore a cocky grin on his face.

"Doesn't matter," responded Auron. "This won't end well for you if you don't stop."

Aurelia island was protected from both Asuachi and Marine interference because of the dojo's supply of powerful soldiers. Pirates knew better than to come here and openly challenge authority, but bandits tended to be just stupid enough to cause trouble on the military island.

"Soru!" barked Cain as he instantly closed the gap between him and the bandit leader.

The bandit had little time to react and before he knew it, Cain's momentum had brought his open palm into contact with Braice's gut sending him fly.

The girl went running towards Auron for safety and 3 bandits jumped into the air above Cain with their swords aimed to pierce him.

Auron readied himself from afar and grabbed ahold of the hilt of his katana.

"Draw-sword Style: Void Strike!" he barked as he swiftly drew and sheathed his blade three times.

The air compressed by his motion flew towards the three bandits and sent them flying.

More bandits had surrounded Cain, but were failing to land a blow on the agile man.

He seamlessly dodged attack after attack and when the distance between him and a target was closed he delivered another quick open palmed strike leaving them unconscious.

"You could end this now!" yelled Auron as he picked off more bandits with his void strikes.

Cain stopped to smile at his friend. "Yeah, so could you."

Behind the distracted Cain, Braice returned. "I'll gut you!" he yelled as he aimed his saber for Cain's chest.

"Rise, Shade!" barked Auron at his shadow. The shadow rose from the ground and materialized into a darker version of Auron.

The Shade acted on instinct and quickly darted towards Cain and Braice. It closed the distance and expanded into a sphere-like shield around Cain.

Braice's blade hit the shadow. No matter how hard he pressed his blade couldn't cut Auron's Shade.

"I'll finish this Auron," said Cain calmly from within the bubble.

Auron recalled his shadow and picked off the remaining bandits.

"I've been nice so far, Mr. Bandit," said Cain calmly. "I haven't seriously hit a single comrade of yours yet, but I think you deserve one."

He cocked back his fist and prepared to unleash on the bandit. "Wako's light pu-" he barked before he was sent flying by a new arrival.

"What's this I hear about you two not joining the Marines?" asked an angry Kisaro.

Cain jumped to his feet and Auron rushed to Kisaro as well. "We're in the middle of something!" they yelled in unison. "I knew you'd end up doing something crazy," added Cain.

Braice saber closed in on the new arrival, but he sidestepped the blade without ever seeing it and elbowed Braice in the chest forcing him to step back as he gasped for air.

"Fine, but we'll be having a talk after I clean up this mess," said Kisaro.

He turned to Braice and reached for the broadsword on his back.

"Draw-sword Style…," he whispered as he drew the blade straight above his head then let it slam into the ground. "Void Impact!"

Kisaro's massive strike tore at the Earth as the force of the attack crashed into the bandit.

The dust cleared and Braice lay on his side bleeding, but the ground between him and Kisaro had been torn open.

He sheathed the large blade and returned to his cousins. "So who's not joining the marines?"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks:**

**Special Thanks to Raiyane**

**Special Thanks to The Impostor.**

**Special Thanks to all my return readers**

**How's it Going?**

So I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I've wanted to write this for a long time and I'm glad it's finally underway. Something to address is the following, it's clear that devil fruits from One Piece will appear in this story. Just about every devil fruit is available if you want to pair it with an OC, however, I'm a firm believer in the user of the fruit determining how a fruit is used. What I mean to say is, there should be almost no way that an OC has a fruit that currently belongs to someone from One Piece and uses it exactly the same way or develops carbon copies of their techniques. For example, if you submit an OC with the Bomb - Bomb fruit (Mr.5), then they shouldn't develop a technique where they flick explosive mucus. Be inventive or simply create a new fruit. Also not everyone has to have a devil fruit.

If this chapter seemed a little conversation heavy, I apologize. I thought it was important for me to address how I thought the world might be after Luffy becomes the next Pirate King. I promise there will be more action.

I introduced something that I'd like to think is fairly unique. The Asuachi. This is an organization run by the new Gorosei. They're structured in a way similar to the marines, but there are 5 divisions. One for each Gorosei member. Each Gorosei member then has a rank beneath them called a Saint. They can have anywhere between one and three Saints beneath them. Then there are other ranks, such as a Cardinal and a Bishop.

This new organization will come up quite a bit, but there will still be Marines, Yonkou (or something similar) and possibly Shichibukai.

I thought it was important to create something entirely new, because the fact of the matter is, if Luffy and his crew complete their journey then the world should be changed forever. Every one of the Straw hat's dreams has the ability to do so.

If you're interested in being a part of this story, check the OC form and OC position sections on my profile.

Now if you had any issues or disagree with me, that's fine. Feel free to message me about it and I'll gladly listen to your opinion.

I'm also very open to critiques.

Until next time.


	2. The Sarcastic One

**Author Note:**

See I'm still alive…

* * *

**March 1, XX99, 12:00 P.M, Beach, Aurelia Island**

"I just don't see how you two think you aren't joining the Marines or at the very least the Asuachi!" yelled Kisaro.

Kisaro stood watching his younger cousins who were currently sitting on the beach. He had spent the last few minutes scolding them for even having thought of abandoning the duty that their skills would allow them to complete. The three of them had supposedly been getting stronger all this time with the intention of devoting their life to the marines.

Cain turned toward his spiky white haired brother. He was paying just as little attention to the noise coming from Kisaro. It was clear, that whatever Kisaro had been doing all these years put him at a level they hadn't reached yet. Kisaro definitely wouldn't let them do as they pleased and that was the only reason neither of them had moved yet. Then an idea hit Cain.

"Alright, Alright!" Cain yelled. "How about we go with you to the registration post, see what it's really like and if the marines are really as great as you say they are, we'll join and if not we'll join the Asuachi."

Auron's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "You're fine with that idea too, right Auron?" asked Cain evenly.

Cain was certain that Auron hadn't actually understood that this was all a ploy to get away from Kisaro and was secretly trying to get Auron's attention.

"Hmm, I accept your offer," said Kisaro. "I know that you'll be thoroughly impressed and won't even consider those thugs."

Auron, who still hadn't caught on, was about to speak when Cain quickly shoved his head in the sand.

"Say your goodbyes tonight and meet me on the boat tomorrow," Kisaro. "I'll be heading back to the village now."

He waved goodbye, but walked off in the wrong direction again.

Auron's head burst out of the sand and he gasped for air. "What the hell Cain?!" yelled Auron as he shook the sand off. "Why would you offer that?"

Cain quickly slapped his brother over the head. "Would you keep your voice down," he whispered. "We're not really joining the Marines or the Asuachi. He just wouldn't let us go easily and this way we can avoid fighting family. When we get to the Marine post, we'll take the first chance to break away and sail off."

"Ohhh, that makes more sense," said Auron as he shook his head. "I thought you had really lost your mind."

Cain laughed as he lay back on the beach. "Yeah, I had a feeling you did."

* * *

**March 1, XX99, 2:00 P.M, Anca Village, Aurelia Island**

Wako was looking at two of his three grandsons with a look of bewilderment plastered on his face. "You agreed to join the navy?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well," said Cain. "We actually agreed to check out the post and then join the Asuachi if we didn't care for it."

Wako walked between Cain and Auron eyeing the both of them critically. "Something doesn't feel right about this," he said as his eyes bore into Auron.

From a young age Auron had been unable to lie which often resulted in the two of them getting caught during their mischief. He was presently sweating profusely in an attempt to keep his composure.

"Auron!" said Wako loudly. "What are you two really planning?"

Cain and Auron had prepared for this hundreds of time during the walk here. Auron was to look at his grandfather and simply lie and say, "Nothing at all pops."

When all the grown man squeaked out was "Pop!" Cain hung his head in defeat.

"If all of your plans rest on Auron lying, you're not gonna make it far on the seas," said Wako as he burst out in laughter and walked away from them. "I won't stop you, but Kisaro's not gonna make this easy."

Cain looked at his brother. "Seriously…"

* * *

**March 2, XX99, 6:00 A.M, North Blue Seas**

"Ugh! I get that we had to leave early, but was the cold water really necessary," said Cain as he finished drying his hair.

"I tried waking you up the normal way, but you did not stir right away so I expedited the process," responded Kisaro.

Kisaro, Cain and Auron were all presently in a slightly larger dingy that Wako had given them. He had mentioned that it was a parting gift to his soon to be marine grandchildren making sure to flash a grin at Auron in the process.

"So, Kisaro," started Auron. "How long til we reach the nearest Marine Post?"

Kisaro's face lit up. "I passed it on the way towards the village, so it shouldn't be more than a day or two."

"How much food do we have for rations?" asked Auron.

Kisaro cocked his head to the side. "Food? We're so close I didn't pack any," he said simply.

"Two days!" yelled Cain. "What will we do without food for two days?"

He broke into theatrics now. "What cruel fate has been brought on me?" He shouted at the sea. "Brother, destiny has cast me aside and left me at the fate of this lunatic."

"We'll be fine," said Kisaro. "How about I sing a song to keep our spirits up?"

He waited a moment until Cain calmed down as music seemed to grab his attention. Then Kisaro began to sing and for a moment Cain and Auron believed that they had actually gone deaf. His voice seemed to be shrill enough to cut through the water itself and Kisaro was none the wiser.

"Screw it, I'll swim back home," shouted Auron in an attempt to jump overboard.

Cain caught him just as he got over the side of the boat. "You idiot, you ate a devil fruit!" shouted Cain.

The realization set in for Auron and for a moment he considered taking his chances over listening to Kisaro and starving. Then he hung his head in defeat and allowed himself to be pulled up.

* * *

**March 3, XX99, 4:00 P.M, North Blue Seas**

Kisaro finished his 40th or 50th song and took a look at his cousins who lay perfectly still, but before he could say anything to them something in the distance caught his attention.

"Ahh, we're here," he said simply.

Both Auron and Cain jumped to their feet in excitement and started celebrating.

"Yes! We're here. We made it!" they yelled in unison as they danced around on the little ship.

Kisaro was surprised to see his cousins so excited, so he happily joined in on the celebration.

All three of them were cheering and then the brothers realized they were actually happy to be approaching a Marine base.

A spine tingling feeling hit them as they shook off their excitement.

"Full speed ahead, right cuz?" asked Auron.

Kisaro stood shocked by his cousins' sudden change in demeanor and sat down with his oar.

"You know," he said simply. "I think Grandpa Wako was exaggerating. A little push and you guys seem ready to protect and serve."

The brothers gave each other a quick glance and then Cain slyly added, "Maybe you're right cuz," forcing a happy grin from the eldest of the three.

They sailed to the docks of the intimidating Marine ship which served as registration post.

The large grey metal ship had white sails with the word 'MARINE' stitched on. Along the sides of the ship were cannons and smaller rescue dinghies.

"Alright. I'll go find the captain," said Kisaro and then he pointed towards a line of uniformless individuals being examined by a physician. "You guys wait in the line for hopeful ensigns."

"Wait, what about you?" asked Auron.

"I served as a member of the Skypiean White Beret for the last few years. I'll be receiving an equivalency rank," said Kisaro and then he broke a genuine smile as he hung his arms over the shoulders of his cousins. "Who knows, if we're lucky I'll be your commanding officer."

Kisaro walked off and the brothers shot each other a quick look. "To hell with that!" they yelled in unison.

* * *

**March 3, XX99, 4:30 P.M, North Blue Seas, Captain's Quarters**

Kisaro was currently in the captain's quarters of the ship. There were two small windows in the room and while the room was made of simple Oakwood, it was decorated with green curtains and linens all of which appeared to be made of some sort of exquisite silk. There was a desk in the center of the room and on it a bow and a quiver of arrows rested.

Kisaro stood perfectly still at attention as he watched the commanding officer before him.

Even though he was seated behind a desk, it was clear that the officer was quite tall. His kept his light blue wavy fairly short. His was skin was tan and his blue eyes matched his white and blue button up shirt. The sleeves were rolled up past his elbows and the shirt was just barely buttoned exposing a bit of the imposing man's muscles. He wore a pair of blue jeans, black boots, and sunglasses. His marine coat was currently draped over his shoulders.

"Ooooh. This is quite the impeccable record Mr. Ryuden of Skypiea," said the officer behind the desk. "Numerous arrests, countless patrols, several instances where you lead white beret units, and a recommendation from Grandmaster Wako himself."

The officer looked up at Kisaro when he realized the man hadn't taken a breath since introducing himself. "Hey, no need to be so uptight. It seems like we'll be traveling together for a while since I've been authorized to give you the rank of commander and the last commander who served under me quit."

"Yes!" yelled Kisaro as everything registered. "I won't let you down Captain Sewell. Oh, I've been meaning to ask about my cousins as well. They've come to enlist."

"Wow," said Captain Sewell as he looked through the other forms. "Three Wako recruits at once, today must be my lucky day."

He walked to the window and then continued speaking. "They don't have as much active duty experience as you so I'll be starting them at Ensign, but if the rumors are true they'll do fine. You all should probably get changed and prepare to sail, I think there's a storm coming."

"Yes sir!" yelled Kisaro as he stood at attention once more.

"Oh and relax," said Captain Sewell as he dismissed Kisaro. "No need to be so serious."

As Kisaro turned to exit the door, the boat was rocked by a gigantic explosion sending Kisaro and the captain to the floor.

"What the hell?!" yelled Captain Sewell as he climbed to his feet and grabbed the bow and quiver on his desk. "Let's go. It seems we're under attack."

* * *

**March 3, XX99, 4:20 P.M, North Blue Seas, Marine Post (Ten Minutes earlier)**

"Yup, that does it!" yelled Cain. "I'm done waiting, let's get ready to make our move."

Auron looked to his brother. "Wasn't this your plan? Why were we waiting?"

Cain stopped for a moment. "I was waiting on you. I was ready since we got here," he said in a matter of fact voice.

Neither Cain nor Auron had moved in a few minutes and the marine hopefuls behind them were getting restless. "Either move up or get moved!" yelled one of them.

"I was waiting on you. You said you had a plan," shot back Auron ignoring the angered people.

"If we were both ready, then why have we been waiting on this line?" asked Cain.

"Hey!" yelled a muscular enlistee as he dropped a heavy hand on Auron's shoulder. "You're keeping us back."

In a flash, the crew was watching the large man skid across the open North Blue Seas. Cain had sent him flying with a quick punch.

"I don't think anyone wants to lay a hand on my brother again," said Cain calmly.

The ship deck of enlistees and ensigns slowly encircled the duo. "I think you ruined our chance of escaping quietly," added Auron as he slowly began to draw his sword.

Cain had begun to count the angered marines around them when he noticed the storm heading towards them.

A sly smile broke across his face and he turned towards Auron and yelled, "Get ready!"

The muscles in his right arm slowly tensed up and he aimed a punch at the floor beneath them.

"Wako's Light Punch!" barked Cain as his fist collided with the floor. The ship creaked under the pressure of the punch at first and then a large hole broke open beneath Cain and Auron allowing them to fall several floors beneath the deck.

"See you all later!" yelled Auron to the bewildered marines above them as they landed and took off down the first hallway. He turned towards his brother who was currently running ahead of him. "Where to now?" he asked.

They turned down a hallway and came to a dead end.

"If I'm right, it should be right about here," said Cain as he readied his fist once more.

"What are you doing?" yelled Auron. "Your punch will flood the ship."

"Unless I'm right!" shouted Cain as his fist crashed into the ship's wall.

When no water came Cain cracked a sly smile at his brother. The wall fell apart and both brothers stuck their heads out of it. Hanging just to the right of the hole on the side of the ship was a rescue dinghy.

"Wow, that's some pretty good luck, but what if you had hit the ship?" asked Auron.

"Hmm, never thought about that," said Cain with a shrug.

They jumped into the boat and lowered it into the water below them. A storm had found itself to the lone Marine ship. Slowly the rain picked up and the little boat that Cain and Auron were rowing was being rocked by the sea. The waves became larger and larger until they could no longer row and they were being carried by the waves.

Amidst the chaos of the seas, both brothers broke out in laughter as they realized they were finally free.

"We could die out here!" Auron yelled over the roar of the ocean.

"I don't think so," said Cain with a huge grin. "It doesn't feel like this is where our adventure should end."

Back on the deck of the marine ship, Kisaro and Captain Sewell ran out to the marines.

"Get ready men!" yelled the captain. "This storm's gonna be a rough one."

Kisaro scanned the deck for his cousins and for a moment he was worried they'd been tossed overboard by the storm until his eyes landed on gigantic hole in the deck.

He ran over to the group of enlistees who were in the process of fishing a fellow marine out of the water.

"What caused this hole!?" yelled Kisaro.

The group looked at each other and then pointed at a tiny ship on the horizon.

Kisaro became furious as he instantly realized he had been played.

Captain Sewell read his emotions and understood immediately. "It was your cousins that caused this commotion and stole that boat," he said as he whistled casually. "That's a whole lot of laws they just broke. If it was anyone else, they would be arrested for piracy."

He turned to his newly appointed subordinate. "I'll have to strike them down and bring them in."

Kisaro nodded understandingly. "Hmm, this is so annoying," sighed the captain as he readied an arrow.

"Stop!" yelled a furious Kisaro. "As the oldest active member of the house of Wako, I'll take them down."

The captain was shocked by Kisaro's outburst, but he shrugged it off and waved Kisaro on to take them down.

Kisaro's anger seemed to be endless. Betrayal, Deceit and Treachery. Did his cousins know no bounds?

He reached for the black heat dial blade that rested on his waist. His last use of the blade had been to take the life of a vicious skypiean criminal and now he was preparing to use it on his cousins. He was mad. Mad that they even put him in this position. Mad that they could be so selfish.

From out in the boat, Cain caught a glimpse of his cousin on the deck.

"Look, I guess he found out already," he laughed. "But there's no way they can chase us down in this storm and tend to the boat."

Auron turned to watch his cousin and his eyes narrowed. "What's he doing?" asked Auron.

Cain took note of the movement and recognized it immediately. "It looks like he's going to use the void strike again, but no matter how strong he is, there's no way he can reach us out here."

Auron stayed focused on his cousin and then his eyes went wide. "Something's wrong Cain! Look!"

Cain had noticed it too. Kisaro's skin had seemingly turned black. His face elongated into a snout and his canines sharpened.

On the deck, Captain Sewell watched as his new ship mate transformed. "You ate a devil fruit?" he asked calmly.

"It was a gift," said a furious Kisaro. "The Mutt-Mutt Fruit: Model Jackal."

Cain and Auron watched as an ominous feeling took hold of them. "We've gotta go," they said in unison as they struggled to paddle through the waves.

"Draw Sword Style!" yelled Kisaro as his animal-like muscles tensed. "Jackal Fire!"

The black blade was unsheathed and sheathed frighteningly quick. There was a moment of stillness and then the air combusted from the force of the heat dial. With the Zoan fruit granting him heightened strength, the flame easily reached its target.

Cain and Auron braced for impact and the boat was shredded by the flame.

Captain Sewell eyed the resolution of his new recruit. "That's rough," he said in a matter of fact tone. "You didn't even hesitate to strike them down. I'll send a ship to find them."

"Don't bother," said Kisaro. "They've broken more than just Marine laws. They trampled on Wako traditions and besmirched our name and our bond."

Before Captain Sewell could respond, a large wave rose up in the distance and crashed down on the few splinters of wood that had remained visible.

"I guess it really doesn't matter," said Captain Sewell. "That wave will drag them down now."

The captain turned to his crew and began giving instructions to repair the boat. He turned back to Kisaro now. "I don't know what happened to you all, but I'm sorry for your loss."

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 10:00 A.M, North Blue Seas**

"Well come on then Amber," said a deep voice. "They'll probably die without your help."

A lightly tanned girl turned to her companion with an annoyed look on her face. She had thick, shaggy red hair that reached the nape of her back. She stood a few inches above five and a half feet tall. There was a subtlety to her beauty, because while her solid viridian green eyes had a look of exasperation in them, she had a tomboyish gracefulness that her supple frame complemented well.

"We've already done our share by dragging them ashore Jabari," said Amber as she rolled her eyes and looked at the two men before her. "If they were willing to be out in the ocean, then they probably should have known the risks."

Her companion glared at her until she caved.

"Alright already, you win!" yelled Amber. She picked up the bisento that lay at her feet and used the jabbed rounded edge into the unconscious bodies.

Water shot out of the first body and Auron sat up gasping for air. Having been sure that he had died, he looked around as if to ensure he wasn't in heaven or dreaming. His eyes landed on the red head in a dark blue kosode with a small, simple black obi and a pair of black hakama.

"Oh good he's awake," said Jabari.

Auron's eyes quickly darted between the Bisento in the girl's hands and her companion.

At first he wasn't sure, but another quick scan of the area revealed that the only other person here beside the red head was the gold and brown eagle perched beside her.

Before he could take in the concept of a talking eagle his mind raced to his brother. His eyes fell to his still brother and then moments later, the bisento was crashing into Cain's abdomen forcing out any water.

Cain shot up immediately and his eyes landed on his brother.

He broke out into laughter. "We made it?!" he laughed aloud until his eyes landed on Amber and Jabari. "I'm sure we've got you to thank," he said as he hopped to his feet.

The blue haired boy had a cheeky grin on his face. "We wouldn't have made it without you," he said as he shook Amber's hand excitedly.

"Right?" said Amber as she rolled her eyes and pulled her hand free. "I saved you because Jabari kept nagging me about you guys in the water."

The eagle perched beside Amber finally interjected. "You'll have to forgive Amber," he said in an almost regal tone. "She means well, but doesn't care much for pleasantries."

Auron was now on his feet and beside Cain. Both of them were in shock of their savior's strange appearance. "Not that it matters, but you're an eagle, right?" asked Cain.

"Yes," said Jabari.

He dropped his arm around Auron's shoulders and neck. "See I told you!" shouted Cain. "We've only been free for a day and we've met a talking eagle!"

"I never disagreed with you," said Auron as he struggled to get loose. "But I think you're forgetting about the part where we got set on fire and nearly drowned 10 minutes into our 'freedom'."

Cain ignored his brother and turned to Jabari and Amber. "Listen, we can't thank you enough. If there's any way we can repay you, just say the word."

Amber wrinkled her nose at the thought of someone being indebted to her. Just before she could add in her usual snarky comment, Jabari interjected. "As a matter of fact we could use a bit of help," said the eagle as he eyed the sword on Auron's waist. "We were forced to dock on this island for supplies. Once we got into the local village, we found the people shut inside their homes. They were frightened and refused to come out. A little digging gained us the knowledge that an Asuachi member has taken up post on this island. His underlings have been allowed to run wild on this island and have taken it over."

Jabari floated around the brothers for a bit before settling on the perch once more. "I'm not expecting much, but we essentially only need you to watch Amber's back as she deals with the Asuachi. You two seem capable enough."

"Yeah, I'm sure the two water boys are capable," snapped Amber.

Jabari glared at his companion in hopes of controlling her sharp tongue, but was quickly cut off by Cain's laughter.

"We'll do it," said Auron understanding what his brother was bound to say next. "It's the least we can do after all you did for us."

"Any idea who we're supposed to be fighting?" asked Cain once he stuffed his laughter.

"The people call him Mardi Gras," said Amber. "Bishop Mardi Gras."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks:**

**Special Thanks to Raiyane**

**Special Thanks to The Impostor, MyDearWatson, Ogrespi, and Reven222. **You're the only people I know so far, through conversations, who definitely read all three of my stories and I can't thank you enough. Apologies to anyone I missed.

**Special Thanks to Outcast001 for giving me Amber and Jabari. **Hope I did them justice. The personality notes you gave made it fun to work with them.

**How's it Going?**

So from time to time, I may have a chapter event at the end of a chapter. For those of you from Brightholt this won't be anything new, but to the newcomers the rules and criteria are below and the winner receives an in story prize.

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

If any of the scenes, feel free to let me know and I'll try my best to improve the clarity.

The order which I decided to introduce OCs is a combination of a few things: Potential Growth, Crew Skills and then a random generator.

A commander is one rank under a captain in One Piece.

The Asuachi are, for the most part, legalized thugs. They tend to all tasks set by the Gorosei such as hunting down specific pirates, searching for weapons, scouting special recruits, issuing bounties, and protecting Nobles.

Their ranks so far are as follows:

Saint

Cardinal

Bishop

Knight

Acolyte

Initiate

**I got a few questions so I'll answer some quickly. **

No, I don't think Cain knowing Soru is overpowered.

No, I don't need 'CP9' characters. I sort of thought that was apparent. Asuachi characters are welcome though. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you the info.

Yes, I may use a few of the known islands throughout the story, but a large portion will be original.

The dynamic between Cain and Auron may end up similar to co-captains, but Cain will be the acting captain.

_**Chapter Release Event**_

Name 3 of the 5 Paramecia Devil Fruits that I prevented from being used in OCs

_**Release Events Rules**_

The first person to answer correctly in their review receives a prize.

Then I'll PM the winner.


	3. Dancing Fever

**Author's Note:**

Hey everybody. I'm glad to be back. Sorry for the wait. There's some news after the chapter. It's really important... No I'm not canceling the story. Haha. Enjoy

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 11:00 A.M, North Blue Seas**

Cain, Auron, Amber, and Jabari had been walking along the beach for the better part of an hour. The brothers had washed up on a small island called Shirahata. Shirahata Island was mostly flat grassland. The town, which shared its island's name, was built on the solitary hill on the island. If not for the trees on the beach and scattered across the land between the group and the village, anyone could be spotted a mile away by a town lookout.

This was Amber and Jabari's reason for persuading both brothers to simply take the long way around to the town instead of charging straight in.

Even so, Auron had been uneasy for the whole walk.

"You still think you heard something?" asked Cain.

"No, I didn't hear anything. I felt something," answered Auron.

"Not like it matters I guess. You've always had those weird feelings," said Cain.

"And they've always been right," added Auron as he finally stopped scanning the trees.

"I still don't understand why we can't just run straight up to the door, kick the bad guy's ass and call it a day," whined Cain.

"Ugh," remarked Auron and Amber simultaneously, each earning the other a weird glance.

"For the hundredth time!" shouted Amber. "The Asuachi Outpost is just beyond the village, but they had guards watching the front gate to the village the last time I was there. We're going to avoid them, just like I did before, sneak into the outpost and I'll defeat Bishop Mardi Gras."

When she noticed Cain had stopped listening and was simply mindlessly walking behind her, she became irritated.

"Listen!" she shouted as she grabbed ahold of Cain's collar. "People's lives are on the line here. If you screw around and someone gets hurt, I'll make you pay for it."

Cain remained calm and sighed a deep breath. "I know," said the tall man nonchalantly. "It's just your plan isn't gonna work."

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Jabari.

"Well," Cain started. "The Asuachi are ruthless. If the only reason to fight them is to free the villagers, then the moment you begin fighting this Bishop. His subordinates will probably just kill them all."

Amber's eyes went wide as his words began to set in. "That's not true, I'd stop him!" she shouted.

"How?" asked Cain calmly. "You'll stop him from just giving an order. They'll be dead long before then."

"My brother might not be the most serious person, but he won't take something like this as a joke," said Auron. "We know Asuachi better than most and he's not wrong. They'll murder the whole village just to spite you."

"Then what?!" shouted Amber.

"We'll split up," said Cain with a huge grin on his face as he darted off into the distance.

"Why is that a good thing?" asked Jabari. "The only reason I asked for help was to protect Amber's back. If you split up and she gets outnumbered-"

"If that happens, I'll be there," said Auron. "I think I know what my brother is thinking. We'll be heading up to the main gate to ensure the Shirahata people's safety."

"Let's go!" he added as he turned towards the hill the village rested on and shot off towards it.

Amber and Jabari looked at each other in confusion. "Wasn't this our rescue mission?" asked Jabari.

"Yea, but it looks like the water boys have gotten full of themselves," said Amber as a smirk broke out across her face. "Let's go Jabari. We can't fall behind!"

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 11:30 A.M, Shirahata Main Gates**

Just as Amber had predicted, there were guards posted along the gate into Shirahata Village.

Each guard was wearing the standard Asuachi Initiate uniform; Dark black pant and a navy blue collared shirt. On the back of the uniform were 5 stars serving as a marker for the Gorosei leaders.

The Amber, Auron and Jabari were currently hidden behind the last batch of trees, but the gate was just on the other side of the small clearing.

"Now what?" Asked Amber. "The guards are there, just like I said."

"I thought this part would come easy to you," said Auron as he simply walked out into the clearing.

He was barely half way across the field and he could hear Amber and Jabari yelling out whispering threats.

"Water boy!" she strained. "You're gonna get killed. Come back here so I can kill you myself."

But it was too late. Within moments, the guards were beckoning Auron to stop or risk being gunned down.

"Intruder! If you continue to walk towards this village, you will be gunned down immediately," shouted one of the guards.

When Auron ignored their warnings and continued advancing, they readied their weapons.

"He isn't listening boys," shouted another. "On my mark!"

"Draw Sword Style: Void Strike!" shouted Auron and in an instant the gate was shredded, sending the Asuachi guards crashing to the ground.

A sly smile broke out across Amber's face. "Ha!" she laughed. "Seems these jokers aren't half bad. Let's go Jabari!" she added as she darted in behind Auron.

Auron and Amber entered the town and found it seemingly desolate.

"Why station guards only on the gate and nowhere else?" asked Cain.

"Something isn't right." Added Amber as her eyes scanned the empty streets.

The houses were boarded up and not a sound was coming from any of them.

"Jabari. Fly up above, circle around the town and tell me what you see," said Amber.

The Golden Eagle took flight and began to circle around the desolate town.

Amber and Auron continued to walk through the town. Ahead of them, they could see the exit that undoubtedly led down to the Asuachi outpost.

"Maybe they're all at the outpost?" Auron said to mask his uneasiness.

Jabari circled the town several times and found nothing. Just as he was about to land his eyes managed a glimpse into a house through a window.

Inside he saw several Asuachi members. Instantly Jabari realized the mistake they had made and dove back towards Amber.

"It's a trap!" screamed Jabari. But it was too late as countless Asuachi began pouring out of the Shirahata homes.

Within seconds, Amber, Auron and Jabari were surrounded.

"Just watch my back!" shouted Amber as she readied her bisento.

Two Asuachi charged at her with their swords readied.

A quick rotation of her bisento disarmed the two men and then with a slight twirl herself she spun into them with the heavy weapon knocking them both into several other guards.

She darted further into the crowd of vicious killers, nimbly dodging countless sword strikes and gun shots.

The bisento's shaft not only extended her reach, but gave her countless ways to deflect an attack. Incoming slashes were easily knocked off course by the speeding Amber and then in an instant, her attacker would be mowed down by the bisento's blade.

She moved like a blur of red through the crowd, incapacitating opponent after opponent.

"Ha! These guys are supposed to be thugs?" she taunted.

"Amber!" shouted Jabari. "All of the villagers seem to be missing."

The red head felt a tingling sensation of rage as the news hit her.

Her eyes landed on an Asuachi standing far from the edge of the crowd and she charged him, cutting down every opponent in the way.

As she neared him, she jumped up and brought her bisento down in full force.

The Asuachi initiate raised his sword to block out of fear and moments later the bisento came crashing down, shattering the blade.

"Where are the villagers!?" she yelled as the remaining Asuachi attempted to catch up to the pair.

"I-I-I know nothing," said the Initiate as he shook in fear.

Auron had been fending off other Asuachi.

He was currently locked in combat with another swordsman as they each tried to push the other back. His eyes were constantly shifting from the swordsman to Amber to the crowd of people all looking for an opening.

He lingered with his current opponent for a second too long and an Asuachi moved to jab at him from behind.

A quick duck allowed Auron to evade the attack and follow through by sweeping both his attackers' legs.

The crowd of Asuachi was slowly closing in around him, each pushing and shoving to try and get a hit on him. In the chaos he had lost sight of his red headed team mate.

Auron cut down a few more Asuachi hoping to catch a glimpse of her, when he noticed Jabari above him.

"Jabari!" he yelled as he cut through one more Asuachi. "Where's Amber? I can't see her," he added, pausing between each word to engage another opponent.

"She's run off towards the back gate. The villagers are missing and I believe she's trying to find out where they've been sent," answered Jabari.

The eagle had only turned towards Auron for a moment, but in that short amount of time, Amber was slowly being overrun. The back gate had opened and more Asuachi were flooding into the small town. It was only a matter of time, until someone managed a hit.

Then it became clear to Jabari. With his brain functioning at an absurd speed he saw that somewhere within the next few parries, Amber was sure to be stabbed by the opponent just behind her.

"Auron! She needs your help!" shouted Jabari.

"Rise, Shade!" shouted Auron immediately forcing his shadow to come to life.

The shadow swiveled through the Asuachi legs and rose up just behind Amber to intercept the attack Jabari foresaw.

Amber's eyes glanced over the shadow behind her and once she noticed Auron's resemblance, a smirk took form on her face.

"_I guess the water boys aren't so bad," _she thought.

Auron had begun using his draw sword style to level his opponents faster. He couldn't afford to waste any more time here as his brother and the people of this village were sure to be in trouble.

As the Asuachi numbers dwindled, Auron fought his way over to Amber and his shadow.

With Shade protecting Amber's back, she joyfully fought more and more recklessly.

She pierced the ground with her bisento and used the shaft as a hand hold to quickly swing from one side of the crowd to another.

While it was obvious Amber was a force to be reckoned with while she wielded her bisento, her skills with no more than her hands were not to be taken lightly.

Her speed allowed her to produce quick strikes to an opponent's mid-section and retreat before they could retaliate.

When an Asuachi appeared at an angle that Shade couldn't cover, she'd misdirect the attack and quickly wind the enemy with a knee to the gut or jab towards the windpipe.

The streets were littered with Asuachi members when Auron finally made his way over to Amber.

He had a big smile on his face as they eyed their last three opponents.

"What are you so happy about?" Amber asked as a smile of her own took form.

"I was just thinking," said Auron as he cut down an impatient Asuachi. "My brother was right."

"About?" Amber asked, as the rounded edge of the bisento crashed into another opponent breaking his nose.

"He said - Draw Sword Style: Void Strike!- He said, We'd meet all sorts of interesting people out on the sea."

Amber and Auron looked around at the town which was flooded in downed Asuachi.

"I haven't had this much fun fighting beside anybody other than Cain," said Auron with a huge grin.

Before Amber could respond, a young woman's voice interrupted her.

"That's sweet," said the young woman. "Young love can be so invigorating."

The young woman was exceptionally beautiful. Her complexion was pale and she had calm, brown eyes. Her long straight white hair fell to her waist. She was wearing black dress pants and a matching pair of heels. She had a white button up shirt and a long dark navy blue overcoat with the Gorosei symbol on the back. On her waist was a katana.

Auron and Amber's faces both were in confusion. "Young-Love?" they asked in unison. Then it clicked.

"Oi!" shouted Auron. "I'll hit a crazy person, even if they're a lady."

"Have you lost your mind ghost lady?" shouted Amber. "Where'd you even come from?"

"My name," seethed the Asuachi. "Is not ghost lady! It's Knight Mary Eversaw!"

The Knight was infuriated, but soon cracked a smile. "It doesn't matter," she said. "My subordinates did well in buying me time. I've set up a sea stone barrier around this town making it impossible for you to leave."

She smirked at the both of them. "Since I know you're not foolish enough to fight me one on one, we're all stuck in here."

Amber darted passed her immediately.

"You better hurry!" shouted Auron. Those people will need help.

Eversaw cringed at the sight of the red head passing over her seastone walls.

"You're honestly so sure of yourself, that you'd send her ahead?" she asked.

"I didn't tell her to do anything," said Auron as he watched Jabari flying on ahead. "But I'm pretty sure she could have taken you herself."

"You talk pretty big," snapped Eversaw.

"I don't think so," Auron said simply. "You just saw us beat every one of your subordinates. I haven't seen you do anything yet."

"You're gonna regret that," said Eversaw as she drew her blade.

"_She can't be that quick," _thought Auron. _"No matter how fast she is, I would have heard the sword unsheathe."_

"Oi!" shouted Auron as he readied his own hand on his sword. "You're a devil fruit user, right."

Eversaw's eyes went wide. "How'd you know?!" she shouted.

"It's been you since I woke up," said Auron. "On the beach when I woke, I was certain someone was watching us. Then on the way here, the feeling returned. Whatever your ability is, at the very least I know you can muffle sound, but you can't hide your presence."

"Soru," she whispered and was instantly beside Auron.

"_The same as brother!" _thought Auron as he struggled to draw his sword_._

"Silent killing," she said simply as her blade cut her target.

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 11:20 A.M, Outside Shirahata Asuachi Outpost (Ten Minutes Earlier)**

Cain had found the large encampment on the other side of the hill. But he couldn't advance any further currently. He had darted away with a purpose in mind and once he was too far to turn back he remembered he wouldn't know how to get inside.

The Asuashi outpost was surrounded by a rudimentary wall made out of sock, sand and wood. It was put together haphazardly, but was painted beautifully. It was almost as if the design and color were all that the creator really cared for.

To his left, lay the back entrance to Shirahata town that the Asuachi used to go back and forth. To his right was the ocean and out on the sea was an Asuachi battle ship.

"Well, I'm sure she would have wanted this done quietly, but there's no other way" Cain said in a matter of fact voice.

He readied his fist and struck the wall. "Wako's Light Punch!"

Cain's punch blew a hole in the camp's wall, but just as he walked through it the entire structure crumbled to pieces.

He suddenly had the eyes of the entire Asuachi unit glued to him.

It was makeshift in design, with hastily built tents for sleeping and a larger tent in the center that Cain figured belong to the Bishop.

"Now that I'm here, all I've gotta do is head to the big one and find this Bishop guy," said Cain.

He absentmindedly wandered through the camp, drawing attention to himself from whoever wasn't panicking over the collapsed wall. It was clear he didn't belong there and eventually a few Asuachi Initiates forced him to stop.

"Halt!" shouted one Asuachi. "Are you the one attacking our base?!"

"Yup," Cain said with a cheerful grin on his face. "Are you the ones attacking the town?"

"That's none of your-" the Asuachi managed before Cain's fist was buried in his gut.

The first guard fell to the floor immediately. Cain jumped up and spun into a kick that landed on the side of the other guard's face sending him flying into a several tents.

The third Asuachi took those moments to run for help.

"I guess they'll come to me?" Cain wondered aloud.

Within moments an Asuachi member exited the main tent.

"Who is causing all this trouble!?" bellowed the large man.

"Huh, that's a big guy," said Cain to himself.

This Asuachi had dark brown hair, short and neat, light brown eyes, dark-tanned skin. He was slightly taller than seven feet tall. His muscles and broad chest bulged out in his form fitting black iron chest plate. He wore a black long sleeved leather tunic underneath with black iron dragon scale sleeves that reached his elbows. This man had on long black cotton pants with black iron armor covering his thighs, calves and knees with matching thick black leather shoes.

"That'd be me!" hollered Cain as he waved his hands back and forth to signal the behemoth.

"You think you can come into Bishop Mardi Gras' camp and walk out alive?!" shouted the Asuachi.

"So you're the guy I have to fight?" asked Cain. "This'll be exciting."

The big man broke out in laughter. "Hahaha," he chuckled. "I am Knight Andres Albright!"

He moved out of the way of the tent opening and said, "This is Bishop Mardi Gras!"

There was a slight delay and then a much smaller man jumped out of the tent forcing several Asuachi to shoot streamers and other party favors into the air.

"Haha!" he shouted. "No one could have made a better entrance than me."

The Bishop had eyes that were unusually dark. His red hair was purposely messy and went down to his lower back. He stood around five and a half feet tall and while he was certainly smaller, but he possessed a refined muscularity. He wore a bright red and gold tunic, metallic green spaulders, and bright blue slippers. A black Carnivale beak mask and several multicolored bead necklaces were also draped on him.

"Have you sent the guards within the outpost into the town?" Mardi Gras asked.

"Oh! No, I forgot boss," said Andres. "How many should I send boss?"

"How many should you send?" retorted Mardi Gras as if he taken offense. "Send them all. If you're going to do something, do it extravagantly."

"Right boss. Everyone Move out!" shouted Andres. "You'll be supporting Knight Eversaw at the guard post in town."

Cain grimaced at the sheer amount of people being sent into town. He was certain Auron would be alright, but he wasn't sure whether or not Amber would be able to handle herself.

The Bishop caught a glance at Cain's moderately worried face and a devilish grin broke out across his face.

"Did you honestly think I, Mardi Gras, wouldn't receive a report of three fools rushing towards the town," laughed the Bishop. "One of my Knights reported back hours ago about you three on the beach."

The camp had been cleared of everyone, but Cain and the two Asuachi members.

"I took great pride in that wall I built," said Mardi Gras. "Never was a wall built so beautifully," he added as tears began to rain down from his face.

"You're right boss!" cried Andres as the two Asuachi began crying on each other's shoulders. "It was beautiful!"

The crying went on for quite some time.

"The wall was crap," said Cain in a matter of fact voice.

All crying ceased and the both Asuachi shot him an glare.

"I'll kill you for that," said Mardi Gras furiously.

"No boss, I'll do it," said Andres as he wiped the tears away. "He'll pay for mocking you're carpentry."

"Soru," said Cain and in an instant he had closed the distance and was poised to strike Andres. "Wako's Light Punch!"

The fist landed in the Knights's chest and he was sent flying back.

"Alright," said Cain grin as he turned to Mardi Gras. "Your tu-"

He was sent flying by Andres' fist. Andres stood to his feet and his armor was dented where he had been punched, but the tall Knight seemed unfazed.

"You're out of your league," chimed Mardi Gras. "You can't hope to stand before the Asuachi and actually prevail."

"I thought you might pack a bigger punch than that," laughed Andres. "You didn't really believe that a Knight of the Asuachi would go down so easily. That's hilarious."

Cain jumped to his feet with a sly grin on his face. "I was sorta hoping it wasn't enough. But man you've got some punch."

Andres charged at Cain and swung his huge fist at Cain once more.

Cain dove out of the way and immediately turned to get an eye on Andres, but was met with a knee to the face.

He crashed through several tents and hopped back to his feet. He was hunched over, but he now had an eye on a stationary Andres. "You're a lot of faster than you look," he managed between breaths. "I guess you can't judge 'em by the cover."

"Soru!" shouted Cain and he was quickly at eye level with the Andres.

Before the Asuachi could react, he had a knee crashing into his face.

Andres stumbled back grasping a bloodied nose.

He buried a flurry of punches in the Knight's gut forcing Andres to double over in pain.

Cain jumped slightly above the Knight and dropped the heel of his foot into the back of his opponent's neck.

"That should do it," managed Cain before he was shocked by Andres stirring to his feet.

"You're something else," he added in shock.

He readied his stance as the Knight rose to his feet, Cain's fist rose up to collide with his jaw.

"Wako's Light Fist!"

The punch forced Andres up off the ground and into a few remaining tents.

"That time," said Cain as he turned to Mardi Gras. "He's definitely out."

"Mardi Gras wouldn't have gone down so easily," said the Bishop. "I need better subordinates."

Amber now arrived and jumped over the rubble around the encampment. "Yup, you definitely do," said Amber.

"Now, tell us what you've done with the villagers!" she yelled.

"Why would, I Mardi Gras, ever stoop to your requests," he laughed. "I'm simply too magnificent to answer to you."

"I'll have you killed without even breaking a sweat," he added devilishly.

Then the Bishop began to gyrate as if listening to some silent song. He was jumping back and forth. "Yeah, that's my song!" he screamed.

Amber eyed the Bishop and turned to Cain. "Oi," she whispered. "Is this ballerina supposed to be a Bishop?"

"Ahhhh!" roared Andres from the wreckage.

"You've gotten be kidding me," said Cain. "I keep knocking him down, but he won't sta-"

He had paused when his eyes landed on Andres' new form.

His eyes had gone white and steam seemed to be pouring off of him. Every vein in his body could be seen tightening and bulging. Every muscle in his body seemed to grow and as he walked by a broken tent, he picked up a wooden hammer-axe.

"I'm a dance-dance man," said the Bishop. "I'm so amazing; I won't even have to lay a finger on you to win."

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 12:00 P.M, Shirahata Main Gates**

"Not bad," laughed Eversaw as she watched her opponent's state.

Blood dripped along Auron's arm. His mind kept replaying her attack in his head as his eyes remained glued on the Knight.

Her speed caught him off guard and in that instant he only managed to stop her from cutting him in half with a slight deflection. The cost was the slight cut to his left arm.

"_I won't get caught again, now that I now she can use 'Soru' as well," _thought Auron. _"Thank you grandpa Wako."_

"Draw Sword Style: Void Strike!" shouted Auron.

The attack obliterated a house, but Eversaw had already sped away to a new location.

Auron peppered the village with Void Strikes; each one barely missing the Knight.

"Is that all!?" taunted Eversaw as she got behind Auron. "How were you ever supposed to save anybody? It's a good thing we killed the villagers once we caught wind of the red head."

He turned to slash at her, but she was quickly away and then behind him once more. "That's disappointing," she laughed before hearing Knight Andres' roar.

"_I'll have to end this soon. It sounds like Andres is getting more than he can handle," _thought Eversaw.

"Looks like we're out of time, Mr. Swordsman. I never even got your name. But it's over!" she shouted as she stepped behind Auron.

"Silent Killing," said Eversaw as her blade closed in on the back of his heart.

The blade clashed with a dark matter and came to a halt.

"Nice job Shade," said Auron as his shadow entangled the Knight. "You've been doing an awful lot of running around. But I must say, your swordsmanship is commendable."

"Don't give me that shit!" shouted Eversaw. "What is this?!"

"What do you mean?" asked Auron. "You set up that barrier because of my devil fruit. Did you forget about it once you thought you had me beat?"

"Stop!" she screamed. "I lied! I lied! We didn't kill everyone. We came to this island to collect slaves. We only killed the ones who resisted. The rest we sent away."

His hand readied on the hilt of his blade to strike at close range. "My name, is Auron Weiss. Draw Sword Style: Void Strike!"

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 12:00 P.M, Shirahata Asuachi Outpost**

Amber and Cain stood in the wake of amplified Andres.

"Listen," said Cain quickly. "He was strong and fast before. I'm gonna take a guess and say he's gotten better in those areas. If you get hit dead on, you might die."

"Nice to know," said the red head. "So how do we deal with him?"

"I need you to buy me some time," said Cain.

"How much time?!" shouted Amber.

"A minute should suffice," said Cain as he sat down and closed his eyes to focus. "I need one minute of uninterrupted time."

Amber looked at her opponents and then back at Cain. "You better not get me killed water boy."

Then she turned to face Andres and Mardi Gras.

She'd have to face this monster and keep an eye on Mardi Gras in case he tried anything.

She turned back to her opponent and found herself lost in a pit of darkness.

"What the hell is this?!" she shouted. "Where am I? Where is everyone?!"

Slowly thoughts of despair flooded her mind and she fell to her knees.

"Watch out!" screamed Jabari bringing her back to her senses.

Andres fist came crashing down where she sat. With Jabari's warning she had just enough time and dove out of the way.

"What happened?! Shouted Jabari.

"I-I don't know?" said Amber as she tried to catch her breath. "I just couldn't move or breath or see anything."

"That was my dance of illusions," sang Mardi Gras. "Granted I didn't know you had a pet eagle to come to your aid."

"I've grown tired of this game," said Mardi Gras as he began to stretch and arabesque. Then he began to leap about like a ballerino.

"You may have been right about the ballerina thing," said Jabari in shock until Mardi Gras' own body exuded a slight steam and his muscles bulged.

"Cain still needs 40 more seconds for whatever he's planning," said Amber. "It better be worth it!"

Andres and Mardi Gras charged at her. She rolled passed Andres and swung at Mardi Gras, only for him to deflect the bisento with a slight kick and punch Amber in the gut sending her flying.

She caught her balance and skidded along the ground.

Andres was back on top of her swinging wildly. She side stepped one of his massive arms and then quickly darted in sliced at him with her bisento.

The bladed staff landed several slashes as Amber nimbly evaded each fist and then closed the distance to attack over and over.

Mardi Gras leapt and kicked her away before landing and curtsying.

Amber crashed into some of the tent wreckage and stood to her feet as she caught her breath.

Andres dashed toward her at full speed and with a quick side step; she used his own weight against him and pulled the beast like man overhead.

Mardi Gras followed up quickly behind him and his own speed forced a collision with the bisento's blade, forcing him to fall back.

"You're surprisingly strong," wheezed a bloody Bishop. "But I'm still light years ahead of you."

With Andres on her left and Mardi Gras on her right, she was now stuck between the two of them.

They both stood to their feet and then charged at her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she prepared to evade both attacks.

The attacks never came.

She opened her eyes and saw both Mardi Gras and Andres flying across the camp.

"What the hell?" she said as her eyes landed on Cain, as he stood beside her.

He was bigger. Much Bigger. His whole body seemed to have grown a few inches more and every muscle in his arms, legs, chest, and neck, seemed to grown and become denser.

The weight of his body cracked the ground beneath him. "I'll explain later," he said calmly as Andres and Mardi Gras stood to their feet once more.

"I don't know how you did whatever you did, but I'm personally disgust," said Mardi Gras. "Andres! Let's Go!"

"Soru," said Cain as he was instantly across the outpost grabbing ahold of Andres and then moments later he was directly above Mardi Gras, sending his behemoth of a subordinate crashing down onto him.

The bigger Cain still stood shorter than the monster Andres, but he grabbed ahold of his throat and lifted him as if he was weightless.

"You guys were pretty good," he said with a genuine smile. "I'm glad I got to fight you guys here."

His left arm held up Andres and his right arm was poised to strike. He let go and as Andres fell, Cain's right arm struck its mark.

"Wako's Heavy Punch!"

Cain's fist buried itself in the gut of the knight, and the force of the punch sent Andres tearing through the camp.

His body crashed through tent after tent until he was skidding out onto the water and crashing into the Asuachi battle ship.

"Mardi Gras won't lose," shouted the bishop as he charged at Amber.

Before he reached her, the blade of Amber's bisento came crashing down on Mardi Gras' shoulder.

Mardi Gras collapsed to the ground as he lost consciousness.

The steam settled from his body as she withdrew her blade. "You weren't half bad, water boy," she added with a smirk.

"Cain!" shouted Auron as he came running down the hill. "Why are you in Gramp's heavy form?"

"They had a big guy. So I kinda wanted to be a big guy," he said with a smirk as his body slowly reverted to normal.

"The costs of that form are too much for you. You don't have it mastered like the old man," said Auron. "Certainly, you didn't have to go so far."

"Eh, probably not. But it was fun," said Cain.

Then a bisento came crashing down on his head. "You didn't have to?" said Amber as she became infuriated. "I didn't have to fight them alone!"

"Probably not, but you were amazing Amber," said Cain with a cheeky grin and he rubbed his head.

"You think flattery will save you? You're a dead man!" she shouted.

"Before you kill my idiot brother, I know where the villagers are," said Auron.

"Really! Where?" Amber asked excitedly.

Auron's face turned grim and he explained the situation.

"Well that settles it," said Cain as he looked at Auron, Amber and Jabari. "We're going after the ship that took them away."

"He's right," said Jabari. "If we hurry, we may be able to overtake them with our own ship. With us navigating and these two powering the ship, there's no reason we can't catch up."

"But first," said Cain as he fell onto his back. "I need some food."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks:**

**Special Thanks to Raiyane**

**Special Thanks to The Impostor **for helping to design the coming islands/arcs/etc. And for giving me Mardi Gras.

**Special Thanks to Outcast001 again for giving me Amber, Jabari and Andres.**

**How's it Going?**

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

If any of the scenes were confusing, feel free to let me know and I'll try my best to improve the clarity.

Someone pointed out to me that a difference between fanfiction and manga is that there's no community. It made sense at first, but I'd really like to prove them wrong. If you all were interested in me setting up a forum on this website, I'd be interested. Just something to think about.

**Entirely Unrelated**

The Bad News: It seems the worst has come to pass. The Knights of Fiore will be canceled. Several characters have been retracted due to the wait caused by a combination of my health, technical issues and unresponsive readers whose OC were set to be pivotal to the story.

If you want to retract any of your characters or lore you are more than welcome to do so. I never wanted to be in this position and while I'm fully aware of my part in this result I know now that I'll have to be more selective of who I accept OCs from in the future. It goes against everything I pride myself on, to go back on my word in this manner, but here we are. I can't apologize enough to you all.

General News: I now, without a doubt, possess the ability to update on a more regular basis. However, to make it a bit more interesting, a friend suggested I do a weekly poll. So each week, all of my interested readers across both of my stories will vote for the story I'll update that week. The poll will have random numbers, so no one knows what they're voting for and after a few days I'll close the poll and find out what was voted for. They'll be 7 numbers to choose from, three for each story to give each one multiple chances and then one where I pick. That said I'll make sure to update one if it falls too far behind. So depending on what you guys vote for in the next few days, I'll be posting a chapter July first, then the eighth and so on.

Good? News: Once the dust has settled on Knights of Fiore and I see who has allowed me to retain their submissions, I'll be attempting to create an original Fairy Tail story from the pieces. This means, I'll be attempting an Alternate Universe where a majority of the story of Fairy Tail hasn't occurred yet or never will, but only the lore which I've received has taken precedence. This story will be unique in just about every way if it happens and I hope you'll be a part of it.

**Thanks for reading.**


	4. Because It Burned

**Author's Note:**

Apologies on the slight delay.

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 2:00 P.M, North Blue Sea, East of Shirahata**

Cain, Auron, Amber, and Jabari had been sailing in her boat for the better part of two hours and with Auron's occasional Void strike firing off they were moving at an incredible speed.

The ship wasn't large, but it fit the three of them and Jabari quite spaciously.

Slowly, but surely an island came into view. However, that island was currently not the source of Amber and Jabari's attention.

Amber and Jabari sat in shock. They'd seen Cain shift from a tall, muscular man into an even bigger monstrosity and now, after he had his fill of any food they could find, sat a rounded mass of a man.

"I can honestly say I've never seen anything like this," the golden eagle said quietly.

"What the hell are you?" shouted Amber.

When she wasn't navigating the small ship, she was poking at the blob-like Cain with her bisento.

"You ate a devil fruit then?" she asked, sure that was the only possible explanation.

"No," said Auron. "Cain actually swore off devil fruits years ago. He could have had one years ago."

Amber narrowed her eyes at the pair.

"So?" she started.

"It's a technique developed Grandmaster Wako," said Cain as his body quickly returned to his natural state.

"Ahh!" screamed Amber and Jabari as they hopped to the other side of the boat.

"Relax! Relax," said Cain as he inched closer to her. "I'm a normal guy."

"The hell you are!" quickly shot out Amber as she brandished her bisento.

"The Life Return techniques allow me to manipulate my body," said Cain as he scratched his head in thought. "It's hard to explain, but grandpa's techniques let me use all of my body's physical capabilities in dense bursts."

She sat in thought for a moment thinking about all they had said. As she came to an understanding of it all, something they both had said caught her.

"Grandpa Wako?" she asked simply.

Both Cain and Auron's eyes went wide as they realized their mistake.

"Uhh, yeah," said Auron. "Our Grandfather is Grandmaster Wako."

She sat quietly for a bit longer. "I guess I should have figured you guys were Marine or Asuachi," she said in a matter of fact voice.

"That's it!" said Cain and Auron surprised.

"We were certain if anybody knew where we came from we'd have problems," Auron added.

"Nope. Marine, Asuachi," she started. "It doesn't really matter which you guys belong to since you don't seem to be the same as they are."

"Haha!" laughed Cain. "See Auron, you worry too much."

"I guess so," he said as he was impressed by how well she took the news. "Oh and we're not Marines or Asuachi."

"No?" she said inquisitively. "Then what?"

Both brothers thought for a moment before coming to the same conclusion.

"Wanted," they said in unison.

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 2:00 P.M, North Blue, Camilla Island's Docks**

Amber was tying her small boat to the dock as the others hopped out.

"So your cousin tried to kill you," she said in confusion. "After you blew a hole in his ship?"

"Yup," said Cain as he turned to Auron. "He probably thinks we're dead."

Cain burst out in laughter. "Oh man," he laughed as he elbowed Auron in the side. "Can you imagine how mad he's gonna be when he realizes we didn't die?"

The white haired brother stood expressionless. "Not funny!" he shouted as he knocked Cain over the head. "We should at least try to hide who we are."

"Alright, alright," said Cain as he rubbed the back of head. "Where are we anyway?"

"This is the island of Camilla," said Jabari. "It's an island where slavery is outlawed."

"Then what the hell is that?" said Cain as he pointed towards a brightly colored Asuachi ship across the dock which could have belonged to only one Bishop.

"Cain's right," said Auron. "That ship had to have been sailed here from Shirahata. The slaves definitely would have been on it."

"They're not slaves," said Amber sternly. "They're just normal people."

"You guys talking about the prisoners who just got brought in," said an old warm voice.

The group turned and found an elderly before them. He was just barely 5 feet tall and with most of his hair missing and the rest a shiny gray he appeared to be quite old. He was knee-high leather boots and brown overalls. But it was his distinct smell that gave away his profession.

"You're a fisherman," said Cain with a huge grin on his face. "I sure am hungry. Could I bu-"

"You're still hungry!" shouted Amber as kicked him off the dock and into the water.

"Please continue sir," said Auron hoping his companions hadn't scared the man.

"Oh, right," he resumed. "They brought in a bunch of people an hour ago and deemed them as prisoners with multiple offenses. The whole group was sent to the Camilla prison. But it was weird, a lot of them were young and old and it didn't seem like they were as vicious as that Asuachi Knight had made them out to seem."

Cain climbed out of the water. "No, that doesn't make sense. You're right."

"No matter," said Auron. "Where's the prison?"

"Oh, that's easy," said the old fisherman as he pointed to the road that led out of the dock. "The prison is down that path. It's the biggest building on the block."

"Right," said Amber. "Thanks again mister."

"Don't mention it," he said. "But I'd hurry if you're planning on visiting a prisoner. The prison is being remodeled and all the prisoners on Camilla are supposed to be heading to Varys Island up North until it's done. The Asuachi even volunteered to deliver them on account of the size of their ships."

"Something isn't right there," said Auron. "What would the Asuachi bring them here for and then mo-"

"I get it!" Shouted Auron. "Mister, does Varys have slave laws?"

"Hmm, no I don't suppose they do," said the old man.

"So that's it!" Added Amber.

"I don't get it," said Cain quickly.

"Come on Cain we'll explain on the way!" yelled Auron as he took off down the block. "Thanks Mister!"

As they ran down the street towards the prison Amber, Cain and Jabari explained the situation.

"They're gonna take the prisoners and sell them into slavery at the next island!" screamed Cain.

"It would seem that way," said Jabari. "Their attack on Shirahata was likely done a whim to acquire more slaves."

"They're the worst kind of people," added Amber.

They had been running through the town for quite some time and the slave free town actually seemed quite nice. Its cobblestone roads and neatly brick-laid buildings were so welcoming that the idea of a secret slave trade happening almost seemed impossible.

"So what's the plan?" asked Auron.

"Plan?" said Cain. "I thought we were just gonna run in, beat whoever brought them here and take everyone back to Shirahata."

"Oi! Auron," said Amber. "Is he really that stupid?"

"He's one of a kind," Auron laughed. "Cain. We can't herd an island of people through the city, fit everyone on Amber's boat and sail back to Shirahata."

"Really? It all made sense in my head," responded Cain.

"I'm losing my mind," said Amber.

"No, it's likely we'll have to steal a ship to make it back to Shirahata," said Auron, just as the prison came into view. "That must be it!" he shouted.

"Hmm," said Cain as he thought more on the dilemma. "But won't the Asuachi just send more people after them?"

Then Auron and Amber came to a halt as Cain's words sunk in.

"I don't believe it," said Amber. "Is he an idiot or a genius?"

"Like I said. He's one of a kind," said Auron. "So what do you suppose we do brother?"

"I guess, we'd have to beat up all of them, right?" asked Cain.

"All of them!" shouted Auron and Amber in unison.

"You mean fight all of the Asuachi!?" yelled Amber. "Are you insane?"

"Oh," said Cain as he strained himself in thought. "Is that a bad idea?"

Before anyone could respond there a loud crash just between them and the prison.

"No matter," came a voice from within the cloud of dust caused by the crash. "I'll be killing all of you here."

Instantly a woman passed between Auron and Amber and was before Cain.

Her bandaged hand crashed into the blue haired man's gut.

She had an accomplished smile on her face that slowly faded as she realized, her target withstood her punch and held his ground.

"You guys go on ahead," Cain said as he grabbed hold of her arm and buried his fist atop her head. "I'll take care of her."

"But, you just used the Heavy form earlier!" shouted Auron. "If you start fighting now, you'll end up losing control of your body."

"Nah, I don't think it'll be that bad," he said nonchalantly.

Realizing that they weren't going to get anywhere here, Auron took off with Amber and Jabari closely behind them.

Cain looked back at his opponent as the woman slowly stood to her feet. Her fists were wrapped in bandages, which made it clear that she favored a hand to hand combat style.

The fair skinned, blond woman stood a few inches shorter than Cain at 6'3". Her hair was kept back in a ponytail and even with a trickle of blood streaming from atop her head, her cold blue eyes held a fury in them for having been stopped. She wore a dark gray tank top, faded-looking black jeans, brown combat boots, and a silver necklace with a pendant resembling a sword. But all that aside, her most eye-catching feature was the two horns on either side of her head.

"What's a horned tribesman doing way out here in North Blue?" asked Cain as he dusted off where her punch had struck him. "I guess the better question is why you're a part of the Asuachi."

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 2:30 P.M, North Blue, Camilla Island's Prison**

Amber and Auron had quickly dispatched the guards at the front, made it passed the initial holding cells and down into a dungeon of some sort. The halls were wide, but on the far side of each hall was a cell where a prisoner was being held.

"What was she?" asked Jabari. "I've never seen a person like that before."

"Me either," said Auron. "But Cain and I learned about them growing up. She belongs to a tribe horned humans. Their young swear an oath to protect their sacred mountains within the Grandline. They aren't usually seen and for one to be a part of the Asuachi is more troubling. It's said that a horned human has the strength of 5 normal people."

They rounded a corner into another large hall of prisoners.

"Damn it!" shouted Auron. "I don't know who to free and who not to free."

"Neither do I," said Amber quietly.

Jabari caught a glimpse of Amber's expression and seemed to know where her mind was.

"Hey, will Cain be alright?" asked Jabari as the group walked passed another row of cells.

Cain turned to the Eagle and quickly grasped where he was coming from.

"Oh, yeah," he said loudly. "Cain can handle himself."

"How do you know that?" said Amber quietly as she scanned more of the prisoners for someone from Shirahata. "You said it yourself, she's really strong."

"I just do," said Auron with a slight shrug.

"What if your brother dies because you decided to save these prisoners instead of him?" she shot out.

"Amber!" shouted Jabari before he was waved off by Auron.

"Then he died," Auron said simply.

"What?!" she yelled frightening a few of the hardened criminals in nearby cells.

"I trust my brother. He chose to buy us time to save these people, so I'm gonna trust he'll be okay. And if not, he did exactly as he pleased right up until the end."

"What does that matter?" she shouted once more. "That's so stupid."

"Being free is all that's ever mattered to us," he said as his voice became more solemn. "If we turned out backs on people who were denied the same life we want, then it wouldn't be worth it. That's how my brother thinks. It's nice that you're worried, but I think he'd be more upset if we didn't follow through with the plan or at least the bit that we worked out."

A huge grin broke out on his face, "Seems like we're growing on you," he chuckled.

It took a moment for his words to sink in and then behind a smile she said, "Don't get ahead of yourself water boy."

Then Amber's eyes landed on a cell just behind Auron. Inside was a little blond girl wearing a tattered blue dress with no shoes. On her wrist was a tag with a prisoner number inscribed.

"I know that little girl," said Amber. "She's from the village."

"Good enough for me," added Auron as he quickly cut the lock off that cell. "Can you tell us who else is from your village?"

"Mhmm," she said between sniffles.

When her eyes landed on Amber, she darted at her gripped the redhead's knees in a hug.

"She's seems to like you," said Jabari.

"That's greeeat," said Amber Sarcastically. "Um, hi. So you remember me from before. We really need your help, so…"

But the little girl remained glued to Amber.

"Someone help," pleaded Amber.

"You'll fight giant monsters, but you're afraid of small children," laughed Auron.

"Not funny," she added.

"Okay," said Auron as he got eye level with the girl. "Sweetie, we really need your help to find your mom and dad, so I'll need you to let go of this mean old lady and help."

"Old?!" shouted Amber.

"She's not mean!" shouted the little girl. "I heard her talking about helping us while me and mama hid in our house and now she came to save us. She's the greatest in the whole wide world."

"Oho," said Auron. "Yup, definitely not mean."

"Or old!" shouted Amber. "But we have to find your mom, so I'll need you to let go. Okay."

The little girl let go and slowly led the group around the prison, freeing cells that held Shirahata prisoners.

Soon they had an entire town's worth of people behind them.

"Now what shall we do?" said Jabari.

"The plan was free the villagers and hope for the best," said Auron as he paused to look around at the villagers behind him. "I guess now we hope for the best."

"They'll be no good fortune coming your way," said a voice from the dungeon exit.

There at the exit stood three soldiers clad in armor. On their chests was an engraved pelican emblem.

"We of the Camilla providence's royal guard charge you with assault, breaking and entering, freeing prisoners of the Providence of Camilla, and destruction of property."

"We didn't break anything!" shouted Auron.

"Your accomplice outside had already damaged several building," said another guard.

"That idiot," said the group in unison.

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 2:20 P.M (Ten Minutes Prior), North Blue, Outside Camilla Island's Prison**

Cain and the Asuachi Knight were locked in combat.

Cain far too exhausted to do anything more than buy time, was forced to simply block attack after attack.

"You could at least tell me your name," he grunted as he blocked a high kick.

"_She's fast,"_ thought Cain. _"One mistake and she wins."_

She stopped her onslaught for a moment and said, "My name is Zara Straits of the Horned tribe."

"I'm Cain Ryuden," responded Cain. "Nice to meet you."

She darted and fired a quick jab which collided with his guard. "You don't say 'Nice to meet you' to someone who is trying to kill you," she taunted before driving a knee into his gut.

Cain crashed into a building beside the prison and then he stumbled back as he struggled to maintain his footing.

"Listen," he said between breaths. "I don't know how you ended up here. But you of all people should be aware what you're doing is wrong."

"Don't act like you know me, just because of my horns," she yelled as a high kick came within inches of a ducking Cain.

"You're right," he chuckled. "But I think you know what you're doing isn't right. I really don't wanna fight you, but I don't have much time for you."

"Soru," he whispered and was quickly within striking distance. "Wako's Light Punch!"

The punch connected with the lady's jaw sending her tumbling passed the prison.

She quickly stood to her feet and wiped the blood from her lip.

"It's not something you'd understand!" she shouted, just as 5 Camilla soldiers ran up the street.

"What seems to be the issue Asuachi Knight?" asked one of the soldiers

"He and his accomplices are trying to free the prisoners from your jail," said Zara.

The lead soldier instructed two soldiers to stay behind and then took the other two into the prison with him.

"_I don't want to hurt them, especially if they don't even know what's really happening to the prisoners," _thought Cain.

"Sir!" shouted one of the soldiers as he drew his sword. "We ask that you please do not resist arrest."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Cain regretfully as he used Soru to strike down the soldier quickly.

The other soldier reached his sword, but before he could draw it a quick punch to the gut, winded him and sent him to the ground.

He surveyed the damage for an instant to make sure he didn't permanently hurt either and then fist collided with his cheek sending him to the floor.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent," said Zara as she stood over Cain.

She turned to head into the prison and was quickly swept off her feet as by Cain's leg.

"Same to you," he said as he hopped to his feet.

Zara quickly stood up. "That's dirty," she said.

"I don't remember agreeing to rules of some sort," said Cain.

"I'm real tired of you," said Zara just before darting off straight at Cain.

She pulled her fist back as she closed in and prepared to strike.

As she came closer, Cain readied his own fist.

"Just stay down!" she yelled.

"Wako's Light Punch!"

Both fighters' fists collided with their target forcing Zara and Cain off in separate directions.

Cain opened his eyes and slowly stood to his feet. He looked across at Zara and slowly climbing to a stand as well.

Before either of them could move, hundreds of Camilla soldiers poured into the street and surrounded them.

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 2:30 P.M, North Blue, Camilla Island's Prison**

"Listen," said Auron. "I don't know if you guys are aware or not, but the knight isn't really going to transport your prisoners. Her and her commander are planning to sell them into slavery.

"We have no reason to listen to you over an esteemed knight," said a soldier. "If you resist any longer we'll resort to force.

"We've got to protect them," whispered Amber.

Before Auron could respond, a soldier dashed in at Auron with his sword drawn.

The man slashed at Auron, who easily dodged each attack.

Auron drew his sword and in a brief swipe, he cut away the armor the soldier was wearing.

With the whole room shocked, Auron used the hilt of his sword to knock the soldier unconscious.

"I see," said Jabari. "You believe they are genuine in their confusion about the knight's objectives. So you don't want to injure them."

The other soldiers darted towards the group and Amber jabbed the rounded side of her bisento into her opponent's head rendering him unconscious.

Auron's other opponent met with a quick loss as he was also disrobed and defeated.

"We've got to hurry out of here," said Amber.

With that, the group and the villagers hurried down the hallway only to be met with hundreds of soldiers.

"What now?" asked Amber.

"If you'll come peacefully, no one will be harmed," said a soldier. "We've been given new orders by our lordship."

* * *

**March 4, XX99, 3:00 P.M, North Blue, Outside Camilla Island's Prison**

Cain stood perfectly still as he began to formulate a plan should any soldier attack. His eyes shifted from Zara to each soldier as he prepared for what he assumed to be an inevitable fight.

"You're nervous?" she taunted with a huge smile. "This is what happens when you act foolishly."

A few moments passed and Auron, Jabari and Amber exited the prison with their hands raised.

"Auron! Jabari! Amber!" shouted Cain. "What's going on? Where are the prisoners?"

Before Auron could respond, a grey haired man dressed in a blue suit with gold embroidery and a pelican emblem appeared from within the mass of soldiers. He was middle aged, but certainly not old.

At his appearance every soldier knelt immediately. "My name is Ash Camilla," he said quickly. "I'm the lord of this providence."

He walked over to Zara and continued, "It seems I owe a great thanks. To you strangers."

The smile on Zara's face washed away quickly and in a matter of seconds, she was in handcuffs.

"In truth, we formed an alliance with the Asuachi so that we could investigate and verify their slave trade in our neighboring islands," said Ash. "We had concrete proof, but word wouldn't have reached back had it not been for your delay. Were it not for you all, we would have sent away hundreds of prisoners to be sold into slavery."

"That's not all!" shouted Amber. "They captured the villagers of Shirahata island and slaughtered the rest!"

The lord narrowed his eyes at Zara and then turned towards a few soldiers. "Take her away for questioning," he said angrily.

He turned towards the group now with a bright smile on his face. "I'll see to it, that the people of Shirahata are well taken care of tonight and returned to their home first thing tomorrow."

"Is there anything I can do for you strangers?" he asked.

They looked at each other before blurting out an answer.

"Food," said Cain.

"A bed," added Auron.

"A shower," said Amber.

The lord chuckled. "It'll be done."

* * *

**March 5, XX99, 9:00 A.M, North Blue, Camilla Castle**

The castle had been created by the finest stonemason this side of North Blue. There was fine linen and warm water. There was more food than Cain could eat. So that night, Amber, Jabari, Auron and Cain ate with Ash Camilla and told him stories of the different things they had seen in their journey so far and of the Asuachi's treachery. It was a peaceful night. It was the sort of night, that makes the next day seem unreal.

"What do you mean it was burned down!" shouted Amber.

Lord Ash sat equally confused at the news that had been reported in the throne room.

Camilla scouts had returned early that morning with news of Shirahata. The Asuachi had burned everything to the ground.

"I don't know what to say," said Ash. "To think they'd go so far. Zara also seems to know nothing about it. We interrogated her and she was just as frightened by the idea."

"What'll happen to the villagers?" asked Cain.

"I've spoken with their chief and offered to house them here indefinitely. It isn't safe and to start over from scratch would be impossible immediately," the lord answered. "The villagers are upset, but at the very least they aren't in danger or starving here."

"Ah, I see," said Auron happily. "Okay, let's go Cain."

"Where are you going?" asked Jabari quickly as both brothers were in the midst of exiting.

"What do you mean?" responded Cain flatly. "We're gonna destroy everything."

Everyone was frozen in shock. "What do you mean?" asked Ash.

"We said it before," said Auron coldly. "No one knows the Asuachi like we do. They'll keep trying to draw you out into a fight. But your country won't attack first. It's part of the United Free Country policy. None of the free countries in any of the Blues will ever attack first"

"So we'll do it," said Cain. "We'll tear everything they have down."

Later that night, Amber furiously packed a small bag in the room she had stayed in.

"You're worried about them," said Jabari as he flapped around the room, packing different things he thought she might need.

"No!" she spat out. "Who'd be worried about those two water boys?"

"But I thought, you wanted to sail the seas with strong people," he said. "I thought you wanted to be a part of something."

"What the hell are they supposed to be? I helped them. They helped me. We're even," she said sharply. "If they want to get themselves killed then that's their business."

"They're two people who seem to care about a lot of the same things you do," said Jabari.

She thought for a moment and then added, "It's not like they even asked me to join them on their suicide mission."

Jabari smiled knowing he had been right all along. "So why are we even packing a bag?" he asked causing the redhead's face to turn a similar shade of red.

Then there was a knock on the door and Auron and Cain stepped in.

They seemed ready to leave.

"Hey," said Auron. "We're getting ready to go an-"

"Oh are you," she quickly cutting him off and sarcastically adding. "Okay, have a safe trip. Don't die too quickly."

"Right, we were getting ready to leave and we wanted to kno-"

"It's been fun. See you if ya don't die," she said sharply.

Jabari flew up and quickly knocked her head with his own.

"You were saying?" said Jabari.

"Right. So we know it's dangerous, but we'd like it if you came with us," said Cain.

Amber sat up quickly. "Yeah?" she said before shaking off her surprise. "Well of course you want me to come," she said forcing a laugh out. "You water boys would drown without me."

"Wow, that's it?" said Cain. "We had a whole speech prepared and list of pros and cons. Auron said asking someone like you to go on what could be a suicide mission required more forethought. "

"Like me?" asked Amber confused.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Auron had his whole list of reason for why we'd need you. He said, you're strong, you're fast, you're smart, you're pre-"

"That's enough!" shouted Auron as he knocked Cain over the head and dragged him out the door. "If you're coming we're leaving in a few minutes."

"Wait, now I wanna know?" said Amber as she sat in thought. "What else could it have been, Jabari?"

The Golden Eagle laughed and said, "You should hurry if we're going to make it."

"Oh right!" she shouted as she grabbed her bag and took off.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 6:00 P.M, North Blue Seas**

"Commander Ryuden!" shouted a marine as he ran up to Kisaro.

They were atop, Captain Sewell's Marine post ship, but their assignment had changed and as such the ship was now headed to a disturbance to the eastern side of North Blue.

"What is it?" asked Kisaro.

"Sir, I've been instructed to tell you we're nearing Varys Island."

"Is that all?" asked Kisaro. "There's no need to be so antsy about reaching a destination."

"N-no sir," said the marine as he pulled out three bounty sheets. "We're been notified by a passing Asuachi ship about three new bounties in the area. Apparently they set fire to an entire island and killed several villagers."

"So we'll take care of them once we get there," said Kisaro as he grabbed the bounties and read the top one aloud.

"Amber Vogel, $1 million beli?" said Kisaro. "This isn't much. It's nothing to be worried about."

"N-no sir. It's not the amount. It's the others," said the Marine.

Kisaro flipped to the next bounty and immediately knew what he'd see if he continued. He took a deep breath and flipped to the next one.

"Auron Weiss, $2 million Beli. And Cain Ryuden, $3 million Beli," read Kisaro.

He chewed every word in anger and then looked up at his subordinate. "Ask Captain Sewell if I can speed up our arrival time."

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 6:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, South of Varys Island**

The group had been given a slightly larger boat by the Camilla Providence. The brothers were right, the providence would never attack first, but Ash Camilla wasn't above giving them supplies and decent ship. Their current ship, was still small so they could remain undetected for as long as possible, but it had a small stow space for their belongings and supplies, leaving plenty of space for the three of them to easily spread out throughout the night.

"So I'm curious," said Amber. "What was that other reason I should come along?

"Just drop it," said Auron as a blush set in.

"Oi!" shouted Cain. "There's something in the water."

Auron and Amber looked over the edge and could see a small skiff floating by and a person seem to be on it.

"Not again," Amber sighed as Cain and Auron lifted the person from the skiff and into the boat.

It was a young man. He seemed to be in his early twenties and short of being famished from drifting through the sea, the unconscious man was fit.

"What's that on his arm?" asked Auron.

Cain raised it up to find a prisoner tag dangling from his wrist.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks:**

**Special Thanks to Raiyane**

**Special Thanks to The Impostor ****for giving me Zara Strait.**

**Special Thanks to Outcast001 for inspiring a scene in this last chapter.**

**How's it Going?**

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

If any of the scenes were confusing, feel free to let me know and I'll try my best to improve the clarity or answer questions.

Zara Strait is an OC that was created based off an idea I discussed with The Impostor. I plan on introducing several unique races in the story and The Impostor was kind enough to volunteer to not only make one, but to make them an Asuachi as well.

I'm going to try and create a sort of map of the different islands that get explored and visited.

**Origm2012 News**

So you guys voted for 3. That was the 'my choice' option. So I chose to update both stories. Hope you enjoyed whichever you read. The new poll is up and yes, the numbers are different this time. . I'll be away for a bit next week, so a chapter will be out for this story or the other story around the 14th.

The forum is up. Link's on the profile. There's only one post right now to get it going, so feel free to check it out or to post your own topics about the stories or whatever. Keep it clean and all that. The category may say Fairy Tail, but all of my readers are welcome.

Thanks for reading.


	5. The Reclusive One

**March 6, XX99, 6:30 P.M, North Blue Seas, South of Varys Island**

Amber, Auron, Cain and Jabari stared down at the young man they had just fished out of the water. He hadn't moved, but they were certain he was alive.

Whoever he was, it was clear that he had been through quite an ordeal as his clothes were worn down and torn. His cream colored t-shirt was riddled in tears revealing small cuts. His jeans had been ripped as well. It almost seemed as if he had run himself through a rose bush a few times. But odder still, the black haired man wore no shoes, but the bottom of his feet were without bruises.

"Are you sure he's even alive?" asked Amber anxiously as she struggled to peer over Cain and Auron's shoulders. "Maybe we should just throw him back over."

He shifted in his unconscious sleep and Auron, Amber and Jabari jumped back in hesitation.

The group watched in anticipation as the stranger slowly sat up. He opened his blue eyes and was met with an ecstatic Cain perched just before him.

"How ya feeling!?" shouted Cain excitedly as he yanked the stranger to his feet and accidentally launched him a few feet in the air.

The young man looked around at his surroundings and confusion set in as he landed back atop the small ship. Before he could ask a question Amber had grabbed hold of Cain and was shaking him by the throat.

"The hell's wrong with you?" she yelled as she continued shaking a smiling Cain. "You drag a half dead convict out of the sea, just to kill them yourself!"

"Heh heh," chuckled Cain. "My bad. I'm still trying to regain control of my body. But it looks like he's okay."

The group turned to the stranger and Auron approached him with his sword on the hilt.

"What's your name stranger?" he asked casually with only his knuckles tensing.

The black haired man quietly stared down Auron and slowly the tension built up forcing Amber to stop chocking Cain and turn her attention to their guest.

"That all depends on who's asking," said the stranger coldly.

"_He's strong, I can tell." _thought Auron. "_Despite his appearance, he's well-built and being shorter than me will give him an edge in this boat. But at this distance he can't dodge."_

"Answer properly," said Auron sharply.

A moment more passed and Auron's blade was pulled from its sheath.

The blade swung across at the raven haired target only to be repelled.

Auron quickly regained his composure and the group watched as the stranger's right hand shrunk from a white claw back to its normal fair skinned tone.

"Oi! Auron!" shouted Cain. "Don't do what you're thinking."

"How can you ask me to do that, when we could all be in danger?" asked Auron as his eyes scanned his opponent for an opening.

"He's not dangerous," said Cain in a matter of fact tone.

His words shocked all of the boat's occupants.

They all looked at Cain waiting for him to elaborate on his belief.

"Care to explain," said Amber in exasperation.

"Explain?" asked Cain.

"Ugh!" Amber shouted.

"I think Amber would like to know how you know our guest isn't dangerous?" said Jabari quickly.

"How I know?" pondered Cain aloud.

"I too would like to know how you arrived at that decision," said the stranger with his eyes never leaving Auron.

"Hmm, you just seem like a good guy," said Cain with a huge grin.

The boat was then silent for a moment.

"Hahaha!" burst the stranger much to his own surprise.

Slowly his chuckling grew until he sat himself down to continue laughing.

"There's no way he's a slave owner," said the stranger as he exhaled to calm himself down. "The name's Zak Kiba."

"Alright!" shouted Cain as jumped to a seat beside Zak. "Auron! Get something for our friend to drink."

"So how'd you end up on that skiff?" asked Cain.

"I've been catching rides from island to island," said Zak as Amber and Auron now took a seat and handed him a flask with water.

He took a sip and then continued, "I thought North Blue would be entertaining or that I'd at least find something to pass the time, but nothings really caught my eye. I was on Varys looking for interesting stuff to do, but there was nothing but slaves and bars."

"That still doesn't explain how you ended up half dead in the middle of the ocean," said Auron.

"Oh, right," said Zak. "Apparently some rich guy misplaced his money and they blamed me as the culprit. They sent lots of guards after to bring me in. They weren't really strong, but after running around Varys' forests for a few days, I eventually tired out."

"So they caught you and let you live?" asked Amber.

"Mmhm. I think they wanted me to stand trial," responded Zak. "I broke out as soon as I woke up and tried escaping in a small boat. A nearby slave ship saw me and opened fire on me with their cannons and now I'm here."

"They tagged you in prison," said Cain almost inquisitively.

Zak looked down at the ID tag which read I39. "I guess they figured I'd actually stand trial and be sentenced to slave labor."

He tore the tag off in a sudden jolt of rage and his eyes narrowed at the island ahead of them. "I'm gonna find the guy who tried to lock me up and get even," he said in almost a whisper.

"Well you're in luck," said Cain bluntly. "We were just on our way to destroy the Asuachi stationed on Varys."

Zak's eyes went wide as he scanned the group waiting for someone to say the tall blue haired man was joking.

When no one did, he scratched his head in amazement and said, "I thought I was crazy."

"Yup, we can give you a ride there and if we don't die we'll see you on the other side," added Cain.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 9:00 P.M, North Blue, Varys Island's Beach**

Auron was currently sneaking along the beach. Just as Zak had predicted there was decent tree coverage on this side of Varys and one of them could sneak through in advance.

Against Cain's protests and pouting over not being the one to go ahead, Auron wound up playing the advance unit.

Upon hearing their goal, Zak had explained what they were heading into. There was a massive building in the center of the island. Inside, countless slave auctions were held. The streets on the island all formed perfect rings around the tower. Each one was designated for its own vice. Bars on one street, drugs on another, and special services on another, but at the center stood a tall blue and black tower.

Auron could see the tower lights from where he stood.

This was where Zak said that the island's leaders resided; 4 Asuachi Knights and a Bishop who each had their own floor in the tower. They doubled as slave brokers and auctioneers and were the driving force behind countless imports of all sorts in the North Blue.

"Okay," said Auron aloud to himself. "All I've got to do is slip into the city and cause a distraction just big enough to draw out one or two Knights."

As he turned to cut through trees, a voice caught him off guard.

"Why use a distraction? I hear you're quite fond of just burning everything to the ground."

Auron froze and immediately knew who stood behind him.

"_How'd Kisaro find us so quickly!" _thought Auron.

"Draw-sword style: Void Strike!" shouted Auron as he turned and fired off an attack all at once.

Kisaro drew the broad sword from his back and quickly deflected his younger cousin's attack.

"And now you're attacking your family, let a long a marine," said Kisaro.

"I seem to remember somebody trying to light me on fire," snapped Auron.

"Justice," said Kisaro as he raised the broadsword above him. "It's called Justice!"

"Draw-sword Style: Void Impact!" barked Kisaro and the heavy white blade sent an explosive strike forward.

Auron dove to his left and his eyes landed on a flaming projectile closing in on him.

"Draw-sword style: Void Strike!" shouted Auron forcing a quick compression of air to collide with the fire.

It exploded and then through the flames, jumped Kisaro with his white Broadsword drawn once more.

He swung horizontally; hoping to lop off his cousin's head, but Auron's sword met it and blocked the attack.

Kisaro kicked Auron in the stomach sending him crashing through several trees.

As Auron stood to his feet, Kisaro closed in and swung once more forcing Auron to block again.

"Are you seriously trying to kill me?" asked Auron as he struggled to keep the broadsword back. "What would the old man think if he saw you?"

Anger flared in Kisaro and he shouted, "Don't quote the man whose traditions you spat on!"

In a frighteningly quick motion, Kisaro's left hand sheathed the broadsword and his right hand reached for the black heat dial katana.

"Draw-sword style: Flame Strike!" he roared as a torrent of flame roared upon Auron.

The fire cleared and Kisaro saw that Auron's shadow had intervened and blocked the flames.

Kisaro watched as the shadow returned to its place and the instant he looked away from Auron proved to be a mistake as the younger cousin drove his sword into Kisaro's shoulder.

Auron pulled the blade loose and planted a kick in Kisaro's gut sending him backwards into a tree.

Kisaro crashed into the tree and fell to his knees for a moment.

"Not bad. Not bad at all cousin," said Kisaro as he stood to his feet.

Auron was certain Kisaro was still angry, but for the first time since he'd known him it was only a calm anger pouring forth.

Kisaro took a deep breath and then his skin turned black. His face elongated into a snout and his canines sharpened. His now yellow canine eyes narrowed on his target and then he achieved something unheard of in their sword style.

The elder cousin's right hand gripped the hilt of his katana. His left found its way to the broadsword.

Time seemed to compress and Auron watched in fear and admiration as his cousin drew both of his swords simultaneously and put forth a combined force of explosive flames.

It took a moment for Auron's eyes to adjust to the destruction around him. The forest was on fire, but he was pretty much unharmed.

He was lying on the ground, but he was alive.

He was certain that he should be dead.

His mind remained clouded until he felt something lightly knocking the side of his head.

Auron tilted his head around to see Jabari frantically pecking him.

"Jabari?" asked Auron as he sat up in the midst of the destruction. "What's going on?"

"Cain asked that I keep an eye on you," said the golden eagle. "He suddenly felt as if something was wrong and since I could fly back, he sent me."

"What about my cousin?" asked Auron. "Why didn't his attack kill me? Why didn't he finish me off?

"Oh," said Jabari. "As it closed in on you, I quickly swooped in and collided with your head. I think his attack was too massive for him to see whether or not it hit directly. I knocked you unconscious, but you're quite alive. He left muttering something about finding Cain."

"Wow, I really owe you Jabari," said Auron before remembering his mission. "Oh crap! We've gotta hurry. I need to find a way to distract the Knights!"

"Well," said the golden eagle as it awkwardly sat in thought. "The fire from the attack burned up the forest and if that wasn't enough of a distraction. The fire spread to the generators just outside town and tripped the power to the island. I suspect we'll be encountering any number of Knights shortly."

Auron stood to his feet with an overwhelmed expression on his face. "I don't know if I should happy or mad or frustrated about any of this," he said with a hint of exasperation.

"I don't think you should worry about what you couldn't do, so much as what you can do," said Jabari.

Auron arched his eyebrows in thought and then looked over at Jabari. "You're pretty smart Jabari."

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 9:30 P.M, North Blue, Eastern side of Varys Island's Merchant District**

Amber, Zak and Cain had been heading towards the tower for a few minutes and they were currently passing through a bazaar of some sort. It was clear that each of the store owners were selling drugs or weapons or whatever their client of the moment said they needed.

As they passed merchants they could hear pedestrians discussing all sorts of things.

"Yes!" shouted one man who had won a card game of some sort. "Now, I'll definitely have enough money to buy my wife those implants."

You're a cheat!" yelled someone at another stand. This gun keeps malfunctioning!"

"Man, I tried every drug stand today," another started. "None of them even had any Krokodil. Let's leave already."

The trio kept walking for a bit and then Amber asked about what had been bugging her.

"Why'd Jabari have to go after Auron?" Amber asked as she looked around the town.

"Something felt weird," said Cain. "I just thought that this time around Auron shouldn't go by himself."

"So why not turn the boat around?" pressed Amber.

"Well we said we were going to do something and I felt that if we turned back at that moment, then we'd never get it done," said Cain.

"None, of that is my concern," Zak interjected calmly as he walked away from Amber and Cain. "Thanks for the ride and the entertainment, but I'll be off now."

"Hmm, that's too bad," said Cain. "I thought for sure we'd have more fun if we all stayed together."

Zak froze in thought for a second.

"_Is he serious?"_ thought Zak. _"He came to this island knowing full well that he might not make it out alive and now he's wondering whether or not it'll be fun?"_

Zak shook his head in defeat. "Fine, I'll stick around for a bit. But the moment I see the guy who accused me, I'm off."

"Haha sounds good!" said Cain as a huge grin broke out across his face.

The trio cut through a few streets and as they were now on the innermost street they were preparing to break into the tower.

As they stepped closer to the tower, there was suddenly a loud commotion. The entire island was suddenly in darkness and in the distance, there was a roaring fire slowly consuming the western side of the island where Auron had landed.

"That's a little more than a distraction," Amber said anxiously.

Before anyone could respond there was a crashing sound from inside the tower and three figures cloaked in Asuachi colors jumped down from a large window.

The moment their feet touched the ground they shot off in the direction of the fire.

"Three of them?" said Amber. "What'll we do now? When we planned our attack, we thought at best they'd send only two Knights towards Auron."

"What could have forced them to react so strongly?" asked Zak.

"I don't know, but fighting three Asuachi at one seems a bit insane. Even for Auron," said Amber.

"Zak. I need a favor," Cain said in a surprisingly serious tone. "I know you're not here to help us, but if you're willing I need you to head towards Auron."

The black haired man examined Cain, waiting for him to break back into what was clearly his normal, free spirited comedic self.

"Oi!" Amber said as her inquisitive side got the better of her. "Did you forget about me? If we're splitting up, I'll go help Auron."

"No," said Cain as he exhaled and steadied his mind. "I'll need you here."

A few moments passed and then the muscles in his body tensed and Zak and Amber watched as Cain slowly grew and condensed into his Heavy Form.

"One of the two Asuachi above knows we're here," said Cain. "I can feel his bloodlust from here."

Cain looked down at the pair and continued, "Auron told me he can feel the sea stone in your bisento whenever he's near you. We'll need that because the Bishop above us is different than most people. I met him a few years ago back home and back then I could barely land a blow on him."

"I got it," said Zak shattering the tension. "I owe you one for fishing me out of the water."

"Haha," chuckled the now giant Cain. "Thanks Zak."

"Yeah. Yeah," said Zak as stretched cracking each of the bones along his spine.

His body grew white fur and slowly his hands and feet became more canine until before Cain and Amber walked a giant wolf on all fours.

"Don't die before we get back," said Zak and the wolf darted off towards Auron.

"_Whatever you just did clearly isn't good for your health, but you were prepared to use this form, expedite your fight and head over to your brother even if it cost you your life._" thought Zak. _"I don't much care for him, but I'll help."_

Amber watched as Zak took off and then she turned back towards Cain.

"Okay, let's go-" she finished before turning to Cain and finding him with his jaw on the floor in amazement.

The red head jumped up and knocked him over the head. "You think this is the time to get starry eyed water boy!" she shouted.

"But, he's a giant wolf," said Cain in an almost childlike whine.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 9:45 P.M, North Blue, Western side of Varys Island's Merchant District**

A giant white wolf dashed through the streets. While most of the people were panicking from the sudden darkness and the fire looming ahead, Zak was almost bored with the whole situation. Almost being the operative word. He was sure of one thing, a few hours with Cain, Auron, Amber and Jabari and he was already more entertained than he had been during his entire journey.

The white wolf dashed around a corner, using his nose to keep track of the Asuachi who blended in with the night. It was clear. They were headed for Auron.

"_No matter," _thought Zak. _"I don't care for him, but I'm sure that the two of us can handle them. Earlier, I meant to shatter his sword with my claw, but the attacks deflected off one another. At the very least, I know he isn't a pushover."_

The giant white wolf zoomed through the crowd leaving flustered shoppers behind him at every turn.

"_Maybe it won't be so bad if I hang around. At the very least, I won't get bored,"_ thought Zak.

"They're an interesting bunch," he said aloud to himself as a small smile slipped out over his face.

His pursuit dragged on until he brought himself to a screeching halt.

There was a scent lingering in the air. A scent that he promised he wouldn't forget. Somewhere in the crowd of people was the man who had accused him of stealing money.

To Zak, it wasn't about money. He could live off of nothing if he had to, it was the idea that this one person tried to lock him away; tried to put him in a cage. Zak wasn't certain of many things, but one thing that had remained true to him his whole life was that being free was not something that should be taken lightly. And no one who tried to send him back to a life without freedom would be safe from the repercussions.

Zak scanned the panicking crowd until his eyes landed on the man who had accused him. The scent narrowed it down, but his tacky green vest, bald head and dress pants gave it away.

The great white wolf stood on his hind legs and slowly became leaner and more toned until he had shifted completely into his hybrid form.

He leapt across at the middle aged man and pinned him to the wall.

Zak bared his fangs and he could hear the man's heartbeat triple in speed.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 9:45 P.M, North Blue, Varys Island's Beach**

Auron and Jabari had been walking towards the tower from the West side of the island. Varys Island wasn't large, but Auron figured they still had another 20 minutes of walking before they reached the tower.

"Well," started Auron. "At least we're out of the forest. Now, it's just a short walk."

"This is true," said Jabari as he looked around the clearing they were currently passing through.

Up ahead was a single file of trees, separating the city from the forest.

"Wait," shouted Jabari.

"Yeah. Someone's coming," said Auron as his eyes studied the line of tree.

There was a second of silence, a deafening crack and then a bullet whizzed by Auron's head.

Auron felt his ears ringing, but brought his hand to his sword in preparation for whatever was targeting him.

"Jabari, get behind cover," said Auron.

Two more shots fired from the trees forcing Auron to dive out of the way.

The shots came out as a sort of welcoming because following their departure, Auron's assailant fired countless bullets.

The shots rang throughout the clearing and Auron dance left and right as he hastily tried to avoid each shot.

"_Shit!"_ thought Auron. _"I can't get any closer. I've gotta gain some ground and counterattack."_

"Watch out Auron!" shouted Jabari. "Above you!"

Auron took a glance at the sky and slowly, but surely something was falling towards him.

"You've got time to look away!" called a voice from behind the trees as it preceded more gunfire.

A quick round of gunfire passed and Auron glanced upwards once more to see a large man plummeting downwards.

A last second dive allowed Auron to escape the falling man and the man crashed into the ground causing a large crater.

The tan skinned man climbed out of the hole and stood face to face with Auron. He was 6 and half feet tall and seemingly made of pure muscle. His hair was cut short and he above his cheesy grin he had thick black mustache. He wore combat boots, black pants an orange tank top.

"Haha, nice dodging," said the man.

"Oi!" shouted a voice from behind the trees as Auron's previous opponent stepped out. "You were supposed to land while I fired, making it impossible for him to dodge!"

This Asuachi was dressed in the standard black Asuachi uniform. His skin was pale. He wore a black cape and a cross hung from his neck. He had his brown hair was tied back in a short pony tail and he was currently furious.

Auron watched as his supposed attackers bickered.

"Hmm," grunted the larger of the two men. "You should time your shots better Duke."

"Me!" exclaimed the leaner man. "You had all the time in the world to fall properly Boris. What good is our plan if you can't fall on time?"

"Uhh," mutter Auron. "Hello?"

"Stay out of it!" yelled the Asuachi in unison.

"Okay then. I'm gonna go," said Auron as he turned away and head for the tower.

"This is why I'm here!" shouted a voice from above as a winged creature darted out at Auron.

The creature had stinger-like hands and wings. It was covered in black and yellow stripes.

The stingers closed in on Auron and he quickly drew his sword and countered forcing the creature back.

"Excellent counter," said the creature as it slowly shifted into a woman.

She was dressed in all black as well and she kept her hair in a neat bun. Her skin was fair and she a beauty mark on her chin.

Her green eyes narrowed on her target as if she was examining the meal of the day.

"I'm fantastic," she said. "I've only just eaten the Bug-Bug Fruit: Model Hornet and already my opponents are no match!"

"Umm, said Auron. "I can't tell if you're serious or not."

"What!?" she exclaimed with genuine shock. "Melissa Strund doesn't joke. I'm certain that you're no match for me."

Then she paused before a sly grin spread across her face, "let alone 3 opponents."

A gun cocked behind Auron and he instinctively took off around the circular clearing, as shot after shot whizzed around him.

"Haha," chuckled Melissa as she flew just above Auron. "You'll have to do better than that."

She dove in at him from behind and lunged at him with her stinger.

As he ran, Auron jumped deflected her attack and quickly landed a spinning kick in her side before he landed and immediately resumed dodging shot after shot.

"_I can do this," _thought Auron. _"I can repel her attacks, dodge his and—wait! Where's the big guy?!"_

"Looking for me!" shouted Boris as he landed just in front of Auron.

The big man landed with his fist readied and swung at the speeding Auron.

"_If he won't move, I'll cut him down," _thought Auron as he swung at Boris.

Boris' fist collided with Auron's sword and Auron was brought to a halt.

He looked up at Boris in shock as he had expected his sword to cut through him.

Boris' fist had stopped the slash and Auron had little to show for it, save for a trickle of blood on his opponent's knuckles.

"Haha. You're wondering what's wrong!" shouted Boris as his free hand crashed into Auron's right shoulder sending him careening across the clearing. "I'm the Pound Pound man! I can increase my weight without changing my volume. Your twig can't cut through something so dense!"

Auron came to his feet immediately. Not because the blow didn't hurt. He was certain his shoulder was injured, but his training taught him that staying on the ground gave him too many openings and he was right. A moment after standing, the gunfire continued.

"_It's no good. I can't keep an eye on everyone and counterattack!" _thought Auron.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 10:00 P.M, North Blue, Western side of Varys Island's Merchant District**

Zak was face to face with the current source of his disgust. The idea that anybody should be imprisoned for no good reason sickened Zak and to think that someone would try and put him in a cage infuriated the white wolf.

"I'll give you money," pleaded the man. "I'll give you power. I'll give you land.

His words fell on deaf ears as the only thing on Zak's mind was vengeance.

"Tell me what you want!" cried the man.

Zak had the man pinned in silence for a few minutes now.

"_I'm gonna kill him," _Zak thought simply._ "It'll be simple. It'll be easy. I should just do it and get it over with. Then I'll leave this island and start over. A fresh start. I'll forget everything and everyon—I wonder what they'd think of me right now."_

The wolves eyes widened in shock. Why did that matter? Why did that thought just cross his mind? The opinion of people he only just met shouldn't weigh on him. To top it off, they were on a suicide mission to defeat a whole bunch of people they had no hope of defeating. The idiots were drawing themselves an early grave.

"Are you listening to me?!" shouted the man once he'd realized bribery wouldn't work. "If you hurt me, an entire Asuachi unit will be brought down on you. I'm an important dignita-"

In disgust Zak tossed him across the bazaar. "Oh shut up already," said the wolf as the idea of what he was going to do settled in. "I've got more important things to do."

Zak shifted back to his full wolf form and darted off towards Auron.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 10:00 P.M, North Blue, Varys Island's Slave Tower.**

Cain grabbed hold of Amber and leapt to the floor from which the three Asuachi had come from.

They landed in a large orange circular room. It was simple and there were multiple bay windows a size similar to the one they had just come through.

Before them stood two Asuachi, on the left Cain knew was an Asuachi knight. The fair skinned man stood just under 6 feet tall. His black hair was kept low and he was wearing armor that had been decorated in Asuachi colors. On his back was a broadsword.

Cain had known that man had to be the remaining knight because on the right was the man he had met a few years ago.

Silver Meis. Silver was Whale-shark Fishman. He was much taller than 6 feet and stood almost eye to eye with Cain. The blue skinned fishman wore long navy blue overcoat with the Gorosei symbol on the back. His clothes were black as well.

Silver currently wore a mischievous grin on his face and as Cain set Amber down, the fishman slowly took off his overcoat and light flexed in preparation for his fight.

"I still don't get why you wanted me here specifically," said Amber.

"No one else would have been safe around him," said Cain. "Auron ate a devil fruit and Zak clearly ate one as well. This man. Long before I met him, he had voluntary surgery to have each of his bones laced with seastone."

"What!?" exclaimed Amber. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know. Grandpa mentioned it might have been part of an Asuachi attempt at strengthening operatives," said Cain.

Cain thought back to their first meeting. He was only 15 at the time and the Asuachi had sent Silver in hopes of persuading Cain to join them. When Cain refused, the Fishman followed up by saying Cain was probably safer at home and that he'd only get he and his crew killed out on the sea.

In an attempt to make Silver eat his words, Cain challenged the Fishman to a fight. They fought for quite some time, but Silver never once took the fight seriously and attacked.

"I'm glad you came prepared," laughed the Fishman as he took in Cain's transformation. "I take it that's the famed Wako transformation."

"What this is, is of no concern to you," said Cain. "All of the slaves on this island. We're taking them."

"Ha!" exclaimed Silver before he turned to his Knight. "You hear that Rory? They're taking the slaves."

Silver looked back at Cain and Amber and said, "And what'll we be doing?"

"You'll either stay out of our way or be put down," said Cain.

Cain turned to Amber slightly and whispered, "Grab on to something tight."

"If you thought," started Silver. "That I'd let you do as you please then you wouldn't have come dressed to fight!"

The fishman took off at near blinding speed at Cain, prompting Cain to do the same.

The two men readied their fists and as they inched closer to one another they swung, both of their fists colliding with one the other's fist.

The force from the collision exploded outwards and Amber instantly pierced the floor with her bisento to remain station.

The shockwave resounded through the top floor of the slave tower shattering all the other bay windows and launching Rory through one of them.

"Cain," I'm going after him," said Amber as she took off and jumped through the window.

"I'm gonna kill your friends and you. You know that, right?" said Silver as he pushed Cain's fist back with his own.

"You'll have to get the order right first!" shouted Cain as he buried his free hand in Silver's gut. "No one's touching my friend's while I'm alive!"

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 10:15 P.M, North Blue, Just outside Varys Island's Merchant District**

Auron had spent the last few minutes stuck in an endless cycle of perfect maneuvering. Hehad kept his damage to a minimum, but there was simply no way to maintain this forever.

"Shit!" Auron said as another bullet passed over his head. "I've gotta find a way to attack.

"Gotch!" squealed Melissa as she flew at Auron, stingers at the ready.

A quick roll evaded the poisonous stingers, but as he came to his feet once more he was met with a fist from Boris.

The blow closed in on Auron and much to his relief, Auron's shadow formed a shield and withstood the blow.

"You can't keep this up forever brat," said Boris.

He readied his other fist and began to beat on the shadow shield.

"_I can't trap him in my shadow or I'll risk being left open for the other two!"_ thought Auron.

Auron turned towards the other two Asuachi. He had tried land a Void strike on both of them, but with limited opportunities in between dodging, they easily evaded it.

Auron darted towards Duke.

"_I've gotta take a chance," _he thought.

The Asuachi fired shot after shot as Auron charged. Each shot was side-stepped. As Auron closed in, he was sideswiped by Melissa.

Her stinger just barely missing after Auron deflected it.

Before Auron could think of another plan, Zak interrupted.

The great wolf jumped into the clearing and shifted into his hybrid form so that he stood beside Auron.

"Looks like you need a hand," said Zak. "And here I thought you were strong."

"Yeah. Yeah," said Auron. "What are you? An overgrown dog."

"I ate the Mutt-Mutt Fruit, Model: Dire Wolf," said Zak. "But you know what, you've got a handle on this right? I'll just leave you to it."

"Life's funny," said Auron. "A few hours ago I was going to kill you."

"You?" Kill me?" taunted Zak.

"Alright then Dire Wolf. I owe you one," said Auron as a smile spread across his face.

"You know it," said Zak as he too now wore a slight grin.

"I've got the big guy," said Auron as he dashed towards Auron. "Watch for the bullets."

"Yeah, I see him. I'll take the bug lady then," said Zak as he shifted into his full Dire Wolf form and took off after Melissa.

Melissa flew up and taunted Zak from above. "Ha!" she shouted. "I'm untouchable up here!"

Zak arched back on his hind legs, shifted into his hybrid form once more and jumped up to her height.

"Huh?" she managed, before a white claw swatted her back down to the ground.

Auron had collided with Boris once more and with only the bullets to dodge every now and then, he had plenty of spare time to prepare an attack.

"I'm sorry Boris," said Auron. "But I don't think I can let that twig comment go easily. I'll show you my blade properly."

Another bullet shot at him and Auron quickly sliced it in half before turning back to Boris.

"Draw-sword Style: Void Strike!" shouted Auron as he quickly unleashed his slash.

"_I'll catch it just like before!"_ thought Boris as the attack closed in on him.

"10,000 pounds!" shouted Boris and within moments his body became heavier and denser.

The big man swung at the attack as it closed in and collided with it at full force.

After the attack subsided he looked down at his hands full of confidence until the pain set in. His right arm was in tatters and his hand was nearly torn to shreds.

"Not looking good Boris," said Auron from behind the man forcing fear in him.

"I'll get you!" screamed Boris as he spun around and swung his good hand at Auron.

Auron dodged the attack and unleashed another Void Strike into Boris' gut.

Zak had knocked Melissa down to the ground which seemed to infuriate the young lady.

"How could you hit me!?" she cried as she charged at Zak with her stingers.

The white wolf dodged them and buried his claw in her side forcing a gasp for air from his opponent.

"I'll kill you. I'll kill you for this!" she shouted.

The gun wielding Asuachi, Duke took stock of the turning tide and drew two pistols now.

He turned towards Zak and fired a barrage of bullets.

With no time to dodge, the wolf braced for impact.

He heard the barrage of bullets collide, but not with him. He had turned away as a reflex and so he didn't see the collision, but to him it sounded like heavy rain on a window pane.

He turned towards the direction of the gunfire and saw Auron's shadow shielding the barrage.

"_Hmph," _he thought. _"Guess we're even."_

With his back protected Zak turned to the venomous opponent before him. She lunged once more and her stinger was caught by Zak.

He pulled her, jumped and buried a spinning kick in the side of her head.

She was sent sliding across the ground as she lost consciousness.

With that Auron and Zak turned towards the gunman, who now feared for what was to come next.

He held both pistols at his assailants and fired endlessly.

As they closed in, they easily dodged each bullet.

"I've had," said Auron as he cut one pistol in half.

"Enough of your shit!" added Zak he crushed the barrel of the other.

With Duke disarmed, they each planted a kick in his face and sent him crashing into the trees.

Jabari flew over and landed before them and said, "That was quite the display of teamwork."

"Hmph. I guess I owe you," said Auron.

"Yeah, whatever," said Zak.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks:**

**Special Thanks to Raiyane**

**Special Thanks to The Impostor for giving me Zak Kiba.**

**How's it Going?**

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

If any of the scenes were confusing, feel free to let me know and I'll try my best to improve the clarity or answer questions.

If you all feel I'm being too vulgar or graphic, let me know.

I'd like to remind everyone reading, that in the future I will open up crew slots for OCs, but they'll be special and I'll probably end up giving them away as a prize of some sort. Also, Marines and Asuachi positions are open. I had a lot of fun creating some of the Asuachi this chapter, but it probably would have been more interesting with OCs. So hopefully I get more of those.

**Origm2012 News**

Apologies for the delay. Someone I know was in the hospital.

I'm holding one of my usual 'In-Story' contests for my readers. To participate you have to head over to my deviantart, with the same name. Go into the folder called contests and tell me the name of those 9 anime characters. As you all know I can't draw. I didn't draw it. I simply put together a collage of some of my favorite anime characters. If you can tell me the name of all 9 characters then you win a prize. The winner gets to decide from a list of options on something happening 'in story' across all my stories.

Thanks for reading.


	6. The Start of Something Great

**March 6, XX99, 10:30 P.M, North Blue, Outside Varys Island's Slave Tower**

Amber Vogel was head strong. She never shied away from anyone or anything, but no matter how she looked at it. She was tired. A few days of rest had done her little favors after several intense fights and she was set to head into another.

She and her opponent were steadily surveying one another. The Asuachi Knight looked the part of a knight as he was clad in armor, wielding a broadsword. They had landed just outside the tower before the forest. Above them, Cain and Silver could be heard clashing with one another.

She was locked in her own thoughts when the man named Rory spoke.

"You can just give up," he said in a matter of fact voice. "I'm sure if you come willingly you'll be able to get only a decent prison sentence."

The red head rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You actually seemed like you might have been smart," she shot out. "But you're really just a tin idiot."

"Tin!" he shouted as he frantically surveyed his armor. "I'll have you know this is the finest armor around, adorned with the vibrant, warm, loving colors of the Asuachi!"

"Warm? Vibrant? Loving?" she said. "You're serious… Is the whole crooked organization full of idiots?" she asked aloud.

"I'll have you retract that statement," said Rory in a graver tone.

"How do you plan on doing that?" she taunted as she leaned against her bisento.

A devious smile crossed the Knight's face.

"There's no hiding it," said Rory. "You all have been running amok across this area for only a few days and you've caused so much trouble. That kind of destruction comes at the cost of running oneself ragged. And you. Look worse for wear."

"_Crap. He's got me,"_ thought Amber.

"That's fine," she said maintaining her self-assured façade. "I don't think anyone would need to be even half serious to deal with a tin man like you."

"You sure," said Rory who had quickly gotten behind the red head.

"Arrogance will cost you in this line of work!" he shouted as he brought his broadsword down upon Amber.

She was lucky. A serious fighter wouldn't have announced their arrival upon getting the jump on an opponent. Rory's own arrogance had saved Amber.

Amber quickly guarded herself with her bisento; holding the heavy broadsword at bay. She kicked off the larger man and landed a short distance away.

"Not bad," he said proudly as a smirked took form upon his face. "But a little lackluster for my taste."

Something about Rory aggravated Amber. It was as if a lot of the qualities she had come to hate were somehow wrapped into one person. She wanted to beat the crap out of him, but he was right. Exhaustion seemed to be gnawing at her right now and beating him didn't seem like it'd come easy.

"_No! None of that," _she thought, half aggravated with herself. _"I'll have to beat him. It's the only way to free the slaves here."_

"Ok!" she shouted. "I'll get serious."

She ran at Rory and swung the bladed edge of her bisento at the knight's chest plate.

There was a sharp screeching sound as the blade scratched along the armor, but it had failed to cut through the armor.

"What the hell?" Amber said aloud.

"That's it," Rory said with a grin upon his face. "All bark and no bite. I bet your last victories were all luck. Little girls should just go home where they're safe and sound."

All his baseless taunts irritated Amber. She knew he was an idiot. It was quite obvious, but he was getting under her skin.

He made a quick attempt to cleave her in half and Amber sluggishly ducked under the huge blade.

He made use of the close distance and kicked her away.

The red head sailed away a few feet from Rory and from where she lay on the ground, Amber could hear him laughing at her.

She raised her head preparing her venom for some sort of clever one-liner and was stopped short when her eyes landed on a small scratch on Rory's chest piece.

"_I scratched it?" _she thought. _"If I can scratch it, then I can cut it. If I can cut it, then I can shut him up."_

"That's it!" she said with a quick jump to her feet and new life in her. "I'm thinking 5 will be enough."

"5 what?" asked Rory.

There was a blur of red as she ran towards him and Amber's second wind brought her within cutting distance of Rory faster than he could react.

The bisento cut across the chest piece once more and the scratching sound deepened as if the metal was tearing.

The Asuachi knight stepped back in fear and his eyes were glued to his precious armor.

"See, nothing but tin," she said.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 10:30 P.M, North Blue, Varys Island's Slave Tower.**

"He's a loud mouth," laughed Silver as he effortlessly dodged a punch from Cain. "But Rory will probably kill that little red head long before I even break a sweat.

"_I'm not sure how long I can keep this up," _thought Cain. _"In all Grandpa's training, I had never managed to use this form more than once a week and now I'm using it again in a matter of days."_

When no reaction came from Cain Silver added, "Oh, ruthless are you. Don't even care for your crew mates. That's commendable. You may have a place among the Asuachi yet."

"You're really talkative," said Cain as he aimed a punch at Silver's stomach. "I guess that happens to people as they get older.

The fishmen side-stepped the punch and planted a knee in Cain's side.

The attack smashed into Cain sending him rolling across the top floor of the tower.

He came to a stop and quickly jumped to his feet as Silver rushed towards him.

Silver jumped and readied his fist as he came crashing down on Cain only for Cain to meet the fishman's fist with his own once more.

The collision resounded through the room forcing cracks throughout the walls.

Without giving Silver a chance to land and regain his footing, Cain swung his free hand upward and buried it in the fishman's gut.

The punch sent him crashing into the ceiling.

Silver's body hit the ceiling and he remained there for a moment before falling quickly falling.

But as he fell, Cain readied his fist and quickly planted a fist in the falling target.

Silver's body shot out through one of the broken windows and he crashed to the ground, tearing through a patch of trees as it came to a stop.

Cain jumped to the ground below and he could hear people rushing out of the tower, screaming in fear.

"You're punch certainly got stronger," said Silver as he lifted broken pieces of trees off of himself. "But you're slower than I hoped."

He swished around the loose blood in his mouth and spit it out with a smile on his face. "Maybe this'll be entertaining after all!" he shouted before rushing towards Cain and prompting him to guard against the attack.

"Hyakumaigawara Seiken!" shouted the fishman.

Silver's fist collided with Cain and although the force was no greater than before, Cain could feel all of the water in his body reverberate before he was launched backwards with ease, crashing into the tower.

Cain cleared the rubble from on top of him and managed to stand to his feet before being met by another attack from Silver.

"Jodan Bakusho!" he grunted out before burying his palm in Cain's jaw.

The attack lifted Cain just off the ground, but before he could be knocked away Silver grabbed hold of him and brought him back down to the ground to bury one more punch in Cain's stomach.

The blue haired man crashed through the tower once more.

Cain emerged from the tower again and darted towards Silver. He buried his foot in Silver's stomach launching backwards, but the fishman maintained his balance and merely skidded backwards a few feet.

Before Silver could react, Cain was within striking distance again.

"Wako's Light Punch!" he shouted as his fist connected with Silver's face propelling the fishman off the ground and through the forest.

Cain walked through the forest keeping his eyes peeled in the darkness for Silver's retaliation.

But during his search, he felt a strain suddenly overcome each of the muscles in his body forcing him to double over in pain.

Each muscle contracted and slowly, Cain not only reverted from his Heavy form, but he became withdrawn and undernourished.

"That's one hell of a side effect!" shouted Silver from within the forest. "Uchimizu!"

From within the darkness of the forest, Silver launched water droplets at a speed as fast as a bullet.

The now skeletal-like Cain struggled to move, let alone dodge and several of the water bullets pierced his body.

Cain limped through the forest trying to regain his focus and Heavy form.

Occasionally a stream of water bullets could be heard tearing towards him and he'd duck out of the way.

He made it to a clearing and made a final effort to revert his Heavy form.

The muscles in his body expanded much to his surprise. His body slowly reverted to its Heavy form and then it went past it and continued expanding until Cain seemed more like a giant ball with legs then any sort of man.

"Well, this is something else," said Silver as he entered the clearing.

"I take it, you've got nothing left?" Silver asked in a half depressed tone. "Fine."

He ran at Cain and planted a knee in Cain's round body sending him crashing through a few trees before coming to a stop.

"You see," taunted Silver. "You beat me and you free some slaves. I beat you and you're dead. But either way I win. All I want is a fight. So when they said, you may head here next I got excited. I wanted to see how far you'd come. But looking at you now and at your strongest too, I'm disappointed. Underwhelmed."

When none of that managed to get a response from Cain, Silver slyly added, "I'm sure your brother's around. I'll kill him next. I know how much you care for him, so I'll be sure to send him to the next life right after you!"

Cain's focus became razor sharp once more and his body contracted from its rounded appearance into his Heavy form.

He shot at Silver and directed a punch at the fishman's head.

Once more Silver side-stepped it and turned to bury a knee in Cain's side.

Refocused now, Cain managed to move a bit faster. He turned on his heel, avoiding the attack, and aimed a punch for the fishman.

Silver ducked under the punch and quickly rose back up, aiming his own punch for Cain's jaw.

Cain knocked the blow off course with his right hand and followed with his left fist directed at Silver.

With no means of dodging the fishman sought mutual damage and with his free hand, he landed a punch in Cain's side, while Cain's fist smashed into Silver's head.

Cain wobbled over to a nearby tree for support, while Silver skidded along the ground to a stop.

"That hurt," said Silver from where he now sat. "But you're probably hurting more. Fishmen karate should never be overlooked. Your Grandfather's fighting style is something to be appreciated, but you're no master. You're no threat. A simple punch from me and your insides probably have you wishing for death."

As if on cue, Cain began coughing up blood.

He stood to his feet and looked Cain over once, "Apart from that last exchange, I'd say the fight was eh, so-so, at best. Nothing to write home about. But it's over now anyway."

"Senmaigawara Sei-"

The fishman was cut off by Zak's claw cutting into Silver and knocking him back.

"You're not looking too good," said Zak as he shifted back to his human form, but kept his eyes glued on Silver, who now wore a devilish grin.

"It's not safe, here," said Cain between deep breaths.

"Yeah," said Zak as he looked over Cain again. "I can see that."

"No, you don't understand," said Cain. "He's got-"

"What he's trying to say!" shouted Silver happily. "Is that my bones are laced with seastone!"

Zak's eyes widened in confusion. One, that someone would have seastone bones and two, they'd announce it.

Silver began smiling again. "I'm telling you, because it's more fun that way. It's more fun to watch you squirm and struggle to avoid every blow!" he screamed happily.

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 10:45 P.M, North Blue, A Field Outside Varys Island's Slave Tower**

"And that makes 3!" gloated Amber.

Rory was currently furious. He had her on the ropes early on in their fight, but from the moment she'd hit him once, she been untouchable. He couldn't land a hit on her and she was taking an annoying amount of satisfaction out of merely scratching his armor.

"Argh!" screamed Rory as he charged at her. "I'll kill you!"

"_He's falling apart,"_ thought Amber. _"His style is becoming looser and he's slowly showing more openings. Hehe. I didn't think it'd be this easy, but I'll settle this shortly."_

She swerved around the charging knight, but not before planting another slash across his armor.

"4 now tin man" she shouted before putting some distance between them.

Rory was even more furious now, but before he could add a retort or attack again, Auron's voice interrupted him.

"It took some time, but I and the wolf finally got here," said the white haired man.

"So you came here first?" Amber asked.

"Well, I'm fairly certain my brother is enough for whoever he's fighting and to top it off, the wolf will probably be helpful," said Auron quickly.

"I don't know," said Amber in a graver tone. "He was certain the bishop was going to be trouble. I've got to admit, he seemed strong. But the idea of putting seastone in one's bones sounds outrageous."

Auron's face went pale as the Bishop's identity became clear to him.

"You've got this, right?" he asked.

"Um, yeah. This guy's no trouble anymore," she said.

"Okay, I'm headin-"

"All the bombs are now set Rory!" said a voice from beneath Amber, Auron and Rory.

"Finally!" cried Rory who now seemed full of confidence again. "I'll kill you the next time you take so long Roger!"

At the sound of his name, a short, stout man dug through the ground and jumped onto the battlefield.

He was a fair skinned bald man. He wore thick glasses and the standard black Asuachi uniform.

"I thought there were only 5 knights," said Auron.

"I'm only an Aco-"

"He's only good enough to be an Acolyte," interrupted Rory. "Maybe if he'd be more useful he'd get promoted already."

"Sorry sir," said Roger sheepishly.

"Geez, I hate this guy," said Amber as she shook her head in frustration and disgust.

"No matter," said Rory. "I win now."

The Asuachi knight then ran towards Amber and Auron, making sure to turn and weave at specific moments.

"Oh shit," said Auron. "He knows where all the bombs are."

"Obviously water boy," said Amber as she whacked Auron over the head. "Why else would he lay bombs that could hurt him too?"

Rory jumped above them and brought his great sword down on them as he landed forcing both of them to dodge.

The Knight wore a triumphant smile as they dodged his attack.

Both Amber and Auron landed a few feet away from him and a whirring sound could be heard beneath them.

"Run!" shouted Auron.

They leapt from their position and the pillar of fire burst forward from the ground and ascended into the sky.

Each landing initiated more mines forcing them to stay on their toes and continuously dodging.

"What's wrong?!" taunted Rory as he ran behind them. "I thought you had me handled."

He swung at Amber's feet, forcing her to dodge toward Roger who sat with his claws readied.

The red head pierced the ground with her bisento and vaulted over the shorter man.

As Amber landed she could see the smug look upon Rory's face and knew she must have walked into a trap.

The bomb in the ground was already going off before she landed. Her first instinct was to dodge as soon as her feet touched the ground. But several additional whirring sounds showed her what trap she'd actually fallen for.

Rory pushed her into a corner and Roger must have set multiple bombs for detonation.

There was no means of avoiding the explosion.

The combined pillars of flame formed a much larger explosion that roared throughout the area.

"Ha-ha-ha!" taunted Rory. "Just a tin man huh?! Nothing to worry about was I!? And now you're dead! You see that new guy. Your friend is dead because her mouth was too big."

Rory turned to face his next opponent. With Rory and Roger focused on Auron, it was only a matter of time until he managed to land somewhere without a bomb and so he remained stationary on the only safe spot he knew.

But he wasn't angered by the immolation of Amber. His face was that of someone cool, calm and collected.

"Geez…" started Rory. "I burn your crew mate alive and you don't blink. That's some hardcore shit."

"I don't remember you burning anyone I know," said Auron as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Are you blind or something?" asked Rory as he turned in the direction of Amber's body. "She's burned to a cris-"

Rory's eyes fell to a cocoon made of a dark murky substance. It had wrapped around Amber and was now slowly peeling away from her. Rory watched as it slithered back to Auron and then took its place as his shadow again.

A moment later, Amber sat up gasping for air.

"You stuck me in a shadow water boy?!" she shouted between gasps.

"I saved you from burning to death!" he shouted back.

"If you'd left me in there any longer, I probably would have died anyway!" she shot back.

"Eh?" whispered Roger to Rory. "A lover's quarrel?"

"It seems so," said an utterly confused Rory at the turn of events.

"No matter!" shouted Rory. "Even if you have a devil fruit. I'll still win with my invincible armor, grenades and assistant!"

"I don't think you'll have to worry about my devil fruit," said Auron as he watched Amber come to a stand slowly.

"Tin man!" she shouted prompting the arrogant man to face her. "5!"

She slashed once more at the nigh invisible crack in his armor and landed in previously detonated spot.

"5 what?!" asked Rory in sincere confusion. "You been counting all this time, but nothing's come of it."

A moment passed and Rory's chest piece began cracking even more. The crack extended all throughout his armor. He held a look of horror on his face as he watched his beloved armor break and fall apart.

"Rory," cried Roger. "Your armor. It's breaking."

"Argh!" shouted Rory as he turned towards Roger.

"You think I don't know that," he shouted before kicking the smaller man away.

Roger sailed in the air for a moment before coming to a stop. Then there was a whirring sound beneath him and the stout, little man cried for help.

"Rory! I'm sorry, please help me," pleaded Roger.

"No! If your bombs were stronger, then I'd have won!" shouted Rory.

The explosion engulfed Roger, but this time it was clear as day when Auron's shadow wrapped around him and protected the little Asuachi.

"Come here to save slaves and I end up saving an Asuachi," he said aloud.

"I know what you mean," said Amber as her hand tightened around her bisento in anger. "But I just really can't stand this guy."

The gravity of his situation now sat in for Rory. His armor was broken, most bombs detonated and Roger out of commission.

"Y-you think this changes anything!" he shouted as fear crept in. "I'll still win!"

Amber moved as a blur of red once more and her bisento met her unprotected target.

Blood escaped the gash in Rory's chest as he fell to his knees.

"You're not even worth being called a tin man," she said coldly. "You're just another Asuachi."

* * *

**March 6, XX99, 10:45 P.M, North Blue, Outside Varys Island's Slave Tower**

"Well, let's see what you're worth!" shouted Silver as he ran towards Zak.

Zak shifted to his wolf hybrid form and began dodging each attack thrown by the Fishman.

He bobbed and weaved around punch after punch and kick after kick until he found an opening and sought to jab his claw into Silver's body.

The fishman became completely still and readied himself for the attack.

In the brief seconds before his attack landed Silver's actions confused Zak, but it quickly sunk and he jumped away.

"Exactly!" laughed Silver. If you'd have hit me, the seastone would have rendered your fruit useless. It might be for a second or a minute or an hour, but if a fruit is the culmination of your fighting skills then your wide open once it's gone!"

"It's the bone?" Zak asked aloud.

"Yup!" shouted Silver. "Every single bone!"

"That's good enough for me," said Zak plainly.

He ran at Silver quickly and sliced through the fishman's skin with one swipe.

"I just explained the consequences of attacking me," said Silver. "Now, you're done."

The three men waited a moment for Zak to be forced out of his transformation, but it never came.

"Just don't touch the bone right," said Zak. "If that's all, then it's more a game than anything. I'll just kill you with a thousand superficial attacks, if one deadly one isn't possible."

There was silence once more and then Silver Meis burst out in laughter.

"No devil fruit user ever came to that conclusion!" he laughed. "What's your name boy?!"

"It doesn't matter, right?" said Zak.

Silver's grin became devilish once more and he nodded in agreement.

Then Silver darted forward at Zak, swinging his fist as he closed in on the shaggy haired wolf.

Zak ducked under the punch and dug his claws into the fishman's side.

Silver turned around quickly and swung his leg at Zak.

Zak quickly jumped the kick, slicing at Silver on his way up.

As he landed, another fist was already closing in on Zak.

The wolf man spun his body in the air to twist out of the way and once he landed safely, he sliced at Silver once more before jumping away.

The fishman was breathing heavily now. Fighting Cain had taken more from him than he thought and now, he was fighting a devil fruit user who found a surprising counter to his seastone bones.

"This," started Silver. "Is exactly what I needed."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of a dark blue liquid.

"I'm an Asuachi," he said. "I am Bishop Silver Meis. Born of the water. On your land, my strength is something to be marveled at, but in my home, no Bishop or Cardinal could ever stand against me!"

He broke the vial and swallowed the dark liquid. Within moments, it could be seen coursing through his veins.

"Don't think poorly of me mister wolf," said Silver. "I only wish to fight you with my full strength!"

The fishman moved forward at an unrecognizable speed.

Within a second, his fist was already closing in on Zak's jaw.

"_He's fast!" _thought Zak.

The fist connected and Zak sailed through the air.

In the air he reverted to his human form. The punch echoed through his whole body, but before he landed, he regained his bearings and shifted to his hybrid form once more.

As he landed, Silver was within striking distance again.

The wolf man was more prepared this time and managed to avoid the punch, he sliced at the fishman and found Silver's elbow driving itself into Zak's back.

His body hit the floor and Silver drove his foot into Zak's side sending him crashing through several trees.

Zak stood to his feet grasping his side and Silver fist was once more closing in on Zak.

Zak hadn't yet shifted back to his wolf form so he lacked the speed to dodge the punch.

The force of the fist echoed throughout the forest, but it hadn't met with Zak.

Before Zak now stood Cain in his Heavy form. It was clear he was nowhere near full strength, but he had come to fight alongside Zak.

"I'll be honest," said Cain as he struggled to hold back Silver's attack. "I need to get stronger. Right now, I can't beat him alone. Will you fight with me?"

Zak shifted into his hybrid form once more. He picked up a one of the tree trucks his body had knocked loose and swung it at the now stationary Silver launching him away for a moment.

"Yes," said Zak.

They ran at Silver and the fishman was overjoyed to meet their assault head on.

He went blow for blow with Cain, something that was only possible as Silver had to contend with dodging Zak's slashes.

Silver would move to dodge one of their attacks and be met with the other's coverage. Moving forward to attack any of them was near impossible as the Cain in his Heavy form and Zak in his hybrid form seemed to have no openings as they worked in tandem.

But slowly, they both tired and Silver began his retaliation.

He landed a punch on Cain launching him across a clearing.

The attack left Silver open and Zak dug his claw into the fishman's chest avoiding any bone.

Silver grabbed hold of his hand forcing Zak into human form and kneed him in the gut.

Doubled over in pain, Zak was then met with an elbow to the face.

With his attention on Zak, Cain managed to land his Light Punch on Silver.

The punch cracked several bones and Silver was forced to cough up blood.

Zak stood to his feet and though ragged from the damage he'd taken, shifted into his wolf form once again.

"Any idea of how to put him down?" asked Zak.

"Yeah," said Cain. "This state he's in isn't natural. It's come at a cost similar to doping. He's slowing down and losing strength. If you hold him still, I'll land my heavy punch and it should be settled. No matter what, if you manage to grab hold of him. Don't move."

"Who's losing speed?" asked Silver who was now within striking distance.

His fit collided with Cain's jaw and launched him up above them.

Zak reacted on instinct and drove his claw into Silver's gut.

The next instant he regained control of himself, he followed through on the attack and made it far more than superficial.

His claw, now inside of Silver, dug deeper crashing into bone until it pierced through Silver's back.

He pushed on still, through Silver's body, pinning the fishman to the ground.

Silver coughed up blood and struggled to come loose without tearing his insides apart.

But something else soon pulled his attention.

Cain was falling, directly on top of them.

As he fell, Silver could hear Cain above them.

"Wako's Heavy Punch!" he shouted.

The monstrous punch collided with Silver as he lay pinned to the ground.

The ground shook and trees were uprooted from the force of the punch.

Zak pulled himself loose and he and Cain now sat in their normal forms.

They both had a look of relief on their faces.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Auron as he and Amber landed beside the pair.

"Too much," said Zak and Cain said in unison.

"You beat Silver?" asked Auron.

"Nope," said Cain. "We beat him."

Auron had wide grin on his face. "That's two I owe you," he said to Zak.

"Come off it. Nobody owes me anything. Since I'd have died a few times already if it weren't for you all," said Zak.

"Who says you won't still die today?" asked a voice behind the group.

The voice instantly caused Cain to jump to his feet and Auron to ready his sword.

Before them stood Kisaro.

"What's going on cousin?" asked Cain jokingly. "When'd you get here?"

It only occurred to Auron in that moment that no one, but Jabari knew that Kisaro was out to kill them or arrest them. With the former being the more likely case.

"You'll answer for your crimes Cain and Auron. The rest of you are not without blame either," said Kisaro.

"Crimes?" asked Cain. "What'd we do? I don't remember fighting any marines."

"For the burning of Shirahata and the murder of its civilians, you've received a life sentence. But if you resist, then I have the power to kill you."

"Hey," whispered Cain to Amber. "Did we do something like that?"

"Of course not you idiot!" yelled Amber. "The Asuachi falsified that report. But I guess your cousin is even more of an idiot for believing them so easily."

Within a flash, Kisaro had moved behind her and had his sword her throat.

"You'd be wise to hold your tongue before me," he said coldly.

"Kisaro," said Cain evenly. "If you want to live, you'll never raise your blade to my friends like that again."

It was only for a moment, but Kisaro's blade wavered at his first sight of his cousin angry.

In that moment, Auron's blade quickly hit away Kisaro's own and Amber jumped away from him.

"It's been so very few days and already you think yourself better than me," Kisaro asked angrily. "If I knew you were alive earlier, I'd have burned the whole forest down."

"What's he talking about?" asked Cain.

Auron had hoped to tell Cain later as a means of avoiding an escalation, but there was no avoiding it.

"We fought earlier and he managed to set part of the forest ablaze trying to kill me," said Auron.

"What's going on here," said another voice. "Kisaro. Have you located the slaves?"

Kisaro remained still at the sound of the voice, but eventually answered. "No sir. I was busy apprehending wanted pirates."

Captain Calder Sewell walked towards the group and surveyed the damage. He had been walking around the island and had run across defeated Asuachi nearly everywhere. It was clear to him, what the Asuachi had done with the report, what these people here had done and what their objective was.

"What pirates?" he said coolly forcing shock from everyone.

"Sir?" asked Kisaro.

"The Marines and Asuachi are barred from direct conflict with one another and as such, the slaves here were doomed to a terrible fate. These people here did a great service and they'll never get thanks for it. They'll be branded as thieves, arsonists, murderers and every other heinous title. Maybe they'll actually turn out that way. I don't know. But today, they've freed people who had no means of being freed."

"But," started Kisaro.

"We're leaving," said Sewell abruptly.

Kisaro walked after his Captain angrily.

"Kisaro!" Cain called as he walked away. "Next time."

The older cousin was shocked for a moment and then nodded in agreement. They'd settle their grievances the next time they met.

"Now what?" asked Auron.

"We'll find the slaves return them to Camilla Island," answered Amber.

"I've already taken care of this matter," said Jabari as he arrived from above and landed beside Amber.

"Auron thought we might need a quick getaway," said the eagle. "So he instructed me to direct them to the ship. It was a struggle to get them all to believe a talking bird, but they came around eventually."

"Alright, then back to the ship," said Auron. Turning to find both Zak and Cain asleep in the clearing.

"Hmm," sighed Auron, then he turned to Amber. "To the ship then?"

* * *

**March 8, XX99, 10:30 A.M, North Blue**

The group had stolen several ships to transport the slaves to Camilla where they'd be assisted. They originally planned to each sail a ship back, but as luck would have several of the slaves were former fisherman and so after the first night the group found themselves all on the small ship they'd received back in Camilla. However, they'd been forced to give up their supplies as a means of facilitating the hungry slaves.

"How are you feeling?" asked Amber as she grimaced at Cain's near skeletal like appearance.

"Never better," said Cain coughing between each word.

"What's wrong with him?" yawned Zak as he awoke from sleep for essentially the first time in the last few days and looked over at Cain.

"His Heavy form requires immense bodily control," said Auron. "Using it over and over is impossible for him like it is for Grandpa. So he probably wound up like this after using it again without properly replenishing his energy."

"That all sounded like a fancy way of saying he's hungry," said Zak plainly.

"So hungry!" interjected Cain.

"If it's just that, I'll handle it," said Zak.

He walked over to the side of the boat and with a few quick swipes he picked out some fish. In a matter of moments, he had used his claws to dice the fish. He dried and cleaned them quickly and then seasoned them with what seemed to be a type of moss off the side of the boat.

"Finished," he said in a simple voice.

Amber and Auron looked at the food in disgust. There was no denying that it looked good and that it smelled good, but the thought of it tasting good after what they just saw was impossible.

"It's amazing!" yelled Cain as he jumped to his feet full of energy once more.

"You're kidding," said Amber. "I wouldn't want to eat that if-"

She was cut off by a loud rumbling sound from her stomach.

Zak arched his eyebrows in anticipation.

"Fine, I'll eat it!" she yelled as she slowly reached for a piece of the fish.

She closed her eyes as she bit into it and then they shot open.

"Mhmm!" she half yelled. "It's so good."

Zak nodded his head in appreciation and then turned to Auron.

"I'm good," he said as he spoke over his grumbling stomach. "This is nothing."

"You owe me," said Zak knowing that would get Auron.

"That's low," said Auron as he reached for a piece.

Within moments he shared Amber's expression.

"You're not bad wolf boy!" he shouted in excitement. "This is pretty good."

"Thank you. Thank you," he said. "I guess everyone else is probably hungry too. I'll go see if they want any."

"Just don't tell them how you made it!" shouted Auron.

Zak waved them off as he jumped to the next boat.

Auron turned to Cain and found him with tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong Cain? Are you hurt?!" yelled Auron.

"No," said Cain quietly.

"Then, what's the matter?" asked Auron.

"The food," said Cain. "It's so good."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks to The Impostor for giving me Zak Kiba.**

**Thanks to all of my readers for being patient with me.**

**How's it Going?**

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

If any of the scenes were confusing, feel free to tell me and I'll try my best to improve the clarity or answer questions.

If you all feel I'm being too vulgar or graphic, let me know. I can't stress this enough. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, but at the same time I'd like to stay close to what I believe the story should be like.

I'd like to remind everyone reading, that in the future I will open up crew slots for OCs, but they'll be special and I'll probably end up giving them away as a prize of some sort. Also, Marines and Asuachi positions are open.

Silver Meis was always going to appear in this chapter, but I honestly feel like Amber and Zak and Jabari really made this more than I could have thought it to be. Thanks to their creators again. But don't worry, Silver, like many characters will be sure to make appearances in different ways as we progress.

I left Silver's techniques in Japanese. The original wording of fishmen techniques always sound more than their translations.

If there is confusion about Cain's Heavy form or any other techniques, message me or head over to the forum and ask. I'll be glad to answer.

**Origm2012 News**

So a few changes to be made. The tentative date for a release may be on my profile, but all notifications will be handled through my forums. I think it's a great way to let you all know when something happens or when they'll be a delay. Or if there's a poll that needs to be voted on as soon as possible, I'll let you all know through the forum. So if you're interested in any of that, I'd recommend following the forum. If you're worried about a lot of notifications, I'll lock the update one so that only I can post in it and I promise to not flood your inbox or if that is impossible I hope anybody following it will be respectful of those who want to be updated, but don't want random messages coming into their inboxes. So feel free to visit the forum for news and then message me with questions. I'm usually quick to respond. . The discussion one will remain open for everyone as I truly want to see more interaction there.

I've also released a third story. It will be listed under Fairy Tail's fanfiction as it does bear elements from there. However, I'd honestly recommend it to anyone who happens to enjoy my writing. I'd also go so far to say that you don't even have to be a fan or follow Fairy Tail to understand what will happen in that story. It won't resemble 99% of what you know from Fairy Tail since the lore was made up by myself and several of the followers of my stories.

One final thing. MyDearWatson is one of my favorite writers on this website. Together with Dreadburner94, they've collectively created, planned and written a few of my favorite stories on this website. The writing is phenomenal. The ideas, spacing and pacing are great. Plus they're both pretty nice people. So of you happen to read my stories, but not theirs, then I'd highly suggest following them. They may be writing something that you'd enjoy and it'd be a shame to miss out.

Thanks for reading.


	7. The Drunken One

**March 8, XX99, 10:30 A.M, North Blue**

It's been about a week and I've seen you try to kill your own family twice already," sighed Captain Sewell. "Normally I don't really care about other people's personal issues, but when it gets in the way of the job, I have to intervene."

He was in his office aboard his ship and before him stood Kisaro who seemed to have a scowl permanently etched into his face.

"As soon as we reached Varys you took off immediately," said Sewell. "Our mission was to be reconnaissance on the slave situation on Varys. The bounties in the area happened to be your cousins. This coincidence is true. But you seemed to know exactly where they were and chose that moment to disobey orders and head for them."

The room was silent for a moment. Sewell was a quiet man, but it was clear that the sternness in his voice right now was reserved for moments of reprimand.

"I can't have someone on my crew who keeps secrets and I can't have someone on my crew who can't follow orders. It's a danger to everyone else," added Sewell.

"What would you have me do sir?" asked Kisaro.

"I want to know why you're willing to kill your family and how you knew where they'd be," said Sewell as he prepared to ask the important questions and readied himself for the worst case scenario. "Are you working for the Asuachi? Do you have an informant?"

It wasn't unheard of between the Asuachi and Marines to send operatives undercover with the other sides and Sewell found it suspicious that Kisaro was so well informed upon their arrival.

Kisaro's eyes caught the tension in his captain's hands and he sighed knowing he'd have to reveal the truth. "No sir," he began. "I'm not a part of the Asuachi, nor do I have an informant."

"Then how?" asked Sewell.

"Hmmm," sighed Kisaro once more. "In Skypiea, my people have been known to be born with gifts of perception. With enough practice we can sense the intentions of our opponents and to the extreme we can sense people in close proximity to ourselves. It's called Mantra."

"I'll need a bit more proof than a folktale," said Sewell sharply.

"You intend to fire a projectile 3 inches above my heart incapacitating me, but leaving me alive," said Kisaro.

The tension in Sewell's hands eased and he quickly returned to his relaxed self.

"Hahaha," he laughed. "That's pretty impressive."

Kisaro nodded reluctantly as he thought over the odds of his captain even having reached that rank.

"That still doesn't explain why you want them dead," said Sewell.

"I don't expect you to understand," said Kisaro. "But if there's no way of getting past this without an explanation, then I'll do so. For generations my family, the Ryuden family, has served the world in some capacity. From childhood, we hone our skills in order to give back to society. Every moment of every day is dedicated to getting stronger. The only thing more important than strength and giving back to society is protecting our honor. Cain's father spit on all that we are supposed to hold dear and because of that my own life was hell under my father's instruction. Now if that wasn't bad enough. Cain is doing the same thing and Auron is no better. I tried to get them to see their mistakes. To reexamine their path, but they wouldn't have it. I won't have our name tarnished by them. So I'll put a stop to them."

Sewell pinched the bridge of his nose in thought for a moment.

"Ahh. I can't pretend to understand any of what you just said," laughed Sewell. "But it sounds like you're the one who needs to reexamine their life. You're a marine. Your job is protecting people and arresting bad guys when possible, but from where I stand, your cousins have helped more people in the same time you've spent trying to kill them."

His captain's words shot through him like daggers. He clenched his teeth in anger. Who was this man to say such a thing to him. He didn't know the life they lived. How much time had been put into getting strong enough to help people, but somehow he knew captain was right and that infuriated him even more.

"Is that all sir?" muttered Kisaro.

"Hmm, Yes. I do believe I heard all I needed to hear," said Sewell. "Have the men prepare for our next port. We'll be receiving our next orders upon arrival."

* * *

**March 15, XX99, 11:00 A.M, North Blue, ****Camilla Castle**

Zak's cooking had done the job in keeping everybody's strength up for their return trip, but Cain's transformations had exhausted him and as such he was restrained to bed rest for a few days. Lord Camilla had called in his island's greatest doctors to attend to the group's wounds. It took Zak some time to adjust at first, but he quickly found himself in the kitchen each morning now, discussing seasonings with the head chef.

When Cain finally awoke, everyone else had already finished resting and recuperated.

"You sure slept a long time water boy," teased Amber from where she sat.

"Ahhh!" yawned Cain as he stretched and sat up. "That was a good nap."

"Nap?" started Auron as he stood beside his brother. "You've been asleep for almost a week brother."

"Really?" asked Cain. "I feel like I could still go a bit longer."

The blue haired man turned over on his side as if he was going back to bed prompting Zak and Amber to yank him to his feet.

"You've been asleep long enough!" they shouted in unison.

"It was a joke guys. A joke!" laughed Cain before he got a bit more serious. "How's everyone who came back from Varys?"

Zak stood with his arms crossed and his back against one of the white walls. "Hmm," he started. "This Ash Camilla guy isn't sparing any expense. He's poured a lot of money into building homes for all of the former slaves since they've got nowhere to go."

"That's good to hear," said Cain in an almost sullen voice.

"What's the matter?" asked Auron. "I thought you'd be happy to hear that everything pretty much worked out."

"Yeah I am," Cain said quietly. "It's just something about fighting Silver really bugged me."

The room was quiet now and eventually Cain looked around at everyone to find puzzled looks upon their faces.

"What are you talking about?" asked Amber.

Before Cain could answer there was a loud roar that shook the very room they stood in.

"Are we under attack?!" shouted Auron as he ran to a nearby window.

"I don't think the Asuachi would be crazy enough to retaliate here!" shouted Amber.

"Guys… That was me," said Cain as he pointed to his stomach.

Amber and Auron wore genuine looks of confusion on their faces and Zak doubled over as he burst out in laughter.

Afterwards Zak led Cain to dining room, while Amber, Jabari and Auron headed back into town.

Zak and Cain entered the large dining room and even though they'd both seen it already, they were quickly taken aback by its lavish design.

A small smile took root on their faces when they realized what the other was thinking.

"It's a bit…." Started Cain.

"Too much," finished Zak with a slight chuckle. "Take a seat. I've been working on something with the head chef and I'd like an opinion on it."

Cain nodded and quickly took a seat at the long dining table embroidered with Camilla's Pelican emblem.

In a matter of minutes, Zak was walking back out with the entire kitchen's staff behind him. Each of them held a type of chicken or fish or steak. They laid out the food before Cain and asked him to choose a dish to eat.

A smile grew upon Cain's face and he said, "I'd like to try them all."

Zak and the kitchen staff quickly thought the man to be joking and broke out in laughter. "I'd like to see you try," laughed Zak.

A mischievous light gleamed in Cain's eyes and then he quickly set to work on each meal.

The smiles on the kitchen staff and Zak's face quickly disappeared as they realized Cain was not only serious he was somehow capable of the feat.

In a time no longer than a few minutes Cain tore through each person's dish.

In place of the usually muscular, tall man now sat a gigantic spherical counterpart.

Fear and shock gripped everyone in the room as they were curious as to how it was even possible.

"Okay," started Cain. "Chef number 1's chicken was bit too salty. Chef number 2's steak needed a little more heat during the last few minutes on the fire. Chef number 3's fish was fished during the wrong season and so the whole fish was blander than is usually hoped for."

This continued for a few minutes until Cain came to the last meal's review. "Chef number 21's chicken was expertly seasoned and prepared. Well done." He said, in his best snobby critic accent.

The room was in shock once more, but eventually they all came to their senses and looked around for plate 21, finding it directly before Zak.

There were sighs and grunts from the staff as they returned to the kitchen and Zak to a seat beside the rounded Cain.

Within a few moments, Cain's body returned to its natural state and he wore a cheesy grin.

"I don't know what's more surprising," said Zak. "That you were just a human rolie polie olie or that you can cook."

"I can't cook," Cain said quickly.

"But you gave that analysis of the food," said Zak.

"Right," said Cain with his grin intact. "I'm what you might call an esteemed critic. I don't cook. I eat!"

The shaggy haired man broke out in laughter beside Cain.

After he quieted down Zak said, "I heard you plan to take down the Asuachi."

"Yup," responded Cain.

"Why?" Zak asked.

Cain thought for a moment before giving his answer. "It just doesn't sit well with me that they get to decide who's free and who isn't," he said.

A smirk took shape across Zak's face now. He'd only known Cain for a few days and already he had expected an answer like that from him.

"So what'll you do now?" asked Cain. "You plan to stay in Camilla? I'm sure the Lord here would be happy to have you around."

"Nah," said Zak. "This place is a bit too high class for me, you know."

"Well then!" shouted Cain as he jumped to his feet. "Come with us!"

Both Zak's eyebrows arched in surprise. "Come with you where?" he asked.

"With me and Auron and Amber and Jabari," said Cain. "Come with us to take down with the Asuachi!"

Amber, Auron and Jabari had been discussing courses of action while Cain slept. So Zak had been privy to these conversations. He found it funny, how Cain wasn't even aware of their next plan of action and was willing to invite Zak along.

"Do you even know where you're going next?" asked Zak knowingly.

Cain pressed a finger to his chin in thought. "Nope," he said simply forcing another laugh from Zak.

"You're something else," said Zak as he shook his head and tried to stifle his laughter. "Fine. I'll go with you. I'm sure it'll beat staying here."

"Alright!" yelled Cain as he held out his hand for Zak's.

The shaggy haired man stood to his feet and met Cain's hand with his own. "Haha. This is gonna fun!"

* * *

**March 15, XX99, 11:00 A.M, North Blue, ****Camilla Castle**

Amber, Jabari and Auron were currently walking through the market place just outside the castle. It was crowded and full of excitement. There were street performers and vendors of every kind.

The group walked from vendor to vendor looking at all of the different types of things being sold. They were quickly enamored with various types of weapons and sheathes.

It wasn't until they reached a blacksmith's store front that both of their eyes went wide with excitement. Jabari who had grown used to Amber's excitement at times like these was still pleasantly surprised to see Auron also revert to child-like excitement.

"Um," started Jabari. "Amber… Auron, I don't think-"

But neither of them bothered to listen to eagle.

The pair quickly ran into the store, bustling from weapon rack to weapon rack. They'd pick up a weapon, test its weight, swing it a few times and then their faces would switch to disappointment or maintain its giddiness as they placed the new weapon on the counter for purchase. From time to time Jabari would try and get a few words in or grab their attention, but they both seemed to have reached a place pure bliss.

After several minutes of that back and forth, they ran up to the counter like kids at a candy store. The clerk calculated the price and they both quickly nodded before digging their hands into their pockets. Shock quickly hit them as they realized neither of them had money.

They turned to face each other and when they saw the same look on the other's face, they turned to Jabari whose eyes held a hint of 'I tried to tell you' in them.

Amber and Auron slowly trudged out of the store, but just before leaving the store Auron's eyes landed on a red sheath in a garbage can.

He quickly swiped it from the trash and ran back up to the counter. "Sir how much is this sword?" he spat out.

The rustic cashier looked down at the sheath and narrowed his eyes in disgust. "That sword is broken," he said in disgust. "I've tried selling it for years and no one's bought it."

Hearing that the sword was broken quickly depressed Auron.

"Why not?" asked Amber.

"Well," started the cashier. "It can't be pulled from its sheath. It wound up on the beach near here after a shipwreck one day and sword smiths think it might have rusted shut or that there is some sort of unlocking device."

Auron's eyes lit up once more. "So you don't know if it's actually broken. How much is it?" he asked.

"Kid," said the cashier. "If you could pull it from the sheath, I'd give you the damn thing."

The sliding of metal against metal quickly rang throughout the store and everyone's eyes landed on the mysterious sword being pulled from its sheath.

The blade was jet black, with red roses etched into its guard and hilt.

The cashier's eyes went wide and the business man in him quickly thought of a way to make money off of this development.

"Uhh. Uhh. Actually the sword is-" he managed before Auron stopped him.

"I know you want compensation now and if I had it I'd give it to you," he said. "I don't. But I'll work it off if I have to. All I know is that for some reason I can't leave here without this sword."

The cashier wrinkled his nose in disgust. Straightforward people like Auron tended to throw off the business man and so he sighed in defeat.

"Just take the damned thing," he said as he rolled his eyes and disappeared into the back of the shop. "I'm closed for the rest of the day. So hurry up and leave."

Auron's face gleamed happiness. "Thanks mister. I won't forget this!" he shouted as he and the group exited the store.

Outside now, Amber and Jabari both wanted to know what was so important about this sword.

"So are you gonna tell us or do we have to pry it from you," said Amber.

Auron looked down at the sword in excitement.

"Cain is my brother, but not by blood," he started. "I was drifted ashore one morning and his father took me in. At the time all I could remember was my name and so that's how it's been all these years. But when I saw this sword in the trash, I remembered something. It wasn't clear, but it's as if I was watching a little me being taught about swords by someone else. They held this sword in their hands and I watched them swing it for hours."

"That's amazing," said Jabari. "You may have unlocked a piece of your past with this blade."

The eagle's eyes looked over every groove of the blade before he exclaimed. "It's a O Wazamono sword!"

"What's that mean?" asked Amber.

"It's a distinction in the craftsmanship of the blade," said Auron. "That distinction places it amongst only 20 others."

"Yes indeed," said Jabari. "And there's only one among that grade with a red sheath. "The Autumn Bringer. But how did you know how to unsheathe it?"

"It was in the memory," said Auron as he revealed a tiny prick in his thumb. "It needs a tiny prick of blood to open up."

Amber shivered at the thought. "Okay, okay. Put the blood sucking blade back in its sheath then."

Auron laughed and then quickly obliged. Once he was done the group quickly continued their walk through the marketplace. They came to a large circular opening where people were dancing and singing.

They watched for a bit as people, danced and sang and children wrestled and fought with their wooden swords.

Auron's eyes continuously darted between Amber and the opening as if he was thinking of a way to enact some sort of plan.

Jabari, being the hawk that he was, caught onto this and gave Auron a nudge to get his attention. Then he shook his head agreement with what Auron was thinking, edging the man on with his plan.

The white haired man took a deep breath and assumed that a woman like Amber would appreciate a straightforward approach.

"Amber, let's dance," he said quick enough for it to have been a curse.

The red head turned to him with her eyebrows arched and said, "Now?" in a simple voice.

Surprised at how well this might be going Auron said, "Yup, now. Let's go."

"Okay," she said with a light shrug of her shoulders.

He reached for her hand and in an instant she had jumped into the middle of the clearing with her bisento drawn. "Let's dance!" she shouted earnestly.

Auron turned to Jabari and quickly whispered, "She can't really be that dense."

The eagle's face was frozen in shock and after he shook it off he said, "Even I'm not sure anymore."

A smile set across Auron's face which slowly erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay," he said as he drew his sword. "Let's go.

She ran at him with her bisento, swinging it overhead at Auron.

He sidestepped the bladed edge and pinned it to the ground with his own sword.

"Really, that's it," he teased.

Amber now wore a smirk of her own as she wretched the bisento free and standing it up vertically, she used it as a support to plant a kick in Auron's chest.

The tall man skidded backwards and drew both of his swords now.

"Oh, you think that's gonna help water boy!" she shouted. "Come on."

Auron darted at her attempting to attack with his blades crossed and only to have both blades held back by the bisento she wielded.

"This is disappointing, at best," she said.

But before she could add anymore of her insults, Auron's shadow grabbed ahold of her right leg and yanked on it, dropping her guard.

He kicked the bisento into her chest and sent her sliding across the circle.

"I hope you won't complain about the devil fruit," said Auron.

"Are you kidding?" she asked. "That's the only way it'll be interesting."

* * *

**March 15, XX99, 7:00 P.M, North Blue, ****Camilla Marketplace**

Cain walked the nearly empty streets alone at the moment. He and Zak had spent the morning going over different fights they'd been in before and times they won or lost and then they talked about food. Everything Cain loved, honestly. But even after Jabari brought back Auron and Amber, arguing over who won their match, Cain still couldn't shake this feeling he had.

He just wanted a moment to unwind and someplace to clear his head by himself. Unfortunately he didn't know Camilla very well and the only place that was recommended to him by the kitchen staff was a local pub.

He entered the pub and after surveying the creaky wooden structure and the patrons that comprised the local pub, he quickly chose to sit at the bar where it seemed quieter.

He smiled at the bartender before passing him a voucher one of the chef's had given him.

The bartender acknowledged it, took down a small glass and poured a golden brown liquid into the cup.

Cain sat in thought as the liquid was poured. It bothered him that he couldn't beat Silver Meis by himself. Sure he had been tired and his technique had left him vulnerable, but that's just it, Silver wasn't at his best either and then when he was Cain couldn't fight him on his own. He was glad to have Zak fight alongside him, but he wanted to know he could count on his own strength as well.

Before he could take a sip, a rowdy individual took a seat beside him.

He was unkempt at best and simply wore a tattered jacket and pants. His shoes had holes in them and his hair was white.

He placed an arm around Cain and said, "Yourrrr someone I knowwww right?"

Cain smiled back at the man and happily said, "Nope, Don't think we've met yet. I'm Cain. Who are you?"

"The name's backhanded Jim!" he shouted in a half drunk stupor.

"How'd you get that name?" asked Cain.

Jim wore a look of surprise on his face. As if he was astonished he didn't know.

He spun himself and Cain around in their bar stool seats so that they faced away from the bar now.

"I'll tell ya the story," he said as he dropped his arm around Cain once more. "One day. I was walking along. Minding my own business! And I found a glass of liqourrr in the street. I looked around really hard for its oooowner and when I didn't find any I drank it."

With his attention focused on the story, Jim slip a blue powder into Cain's drink.

"Then I found another and another and another," continued Jim as he handed the drink to Cain. He waited until Cain drank it before continuing. "Soon I had found a whoooole lot of drinks. But you know what was funny about them drinks?"

"What?" asked Cain as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"They were never real," he said as he cocked a gun against Cain's head. His words clear for the first time all night. "You're an idiot, you know. How someone like you manages to be worth so much money is beyond me. I'm backhand Jim, because I get suckers like you drugged and sell you into slavery."

Everyone in the bar was watching them now as Jim ranted. "Everyone here keeps their mouths shut and they get to live!"

"Now let's go!" shouted Jim as he dragged a half-aware Cain out of the bar.

As he was being dragged out of the building, Cain slipped into unconsciousness. He could see himself as a kid and his grandfather training atop a mountain. His grandfather had been instilling the secrets of Life Return in Cain for months. Their hellish training forced survival on almost no food and while Cain had managed to attain the light form, he still couldn't grasp the heavy form.

"Grandpa!" whined the younger Cain as he lay on the floor. "I'm too hungry."

Wako looked at his grandson from where he meditated and said, "If you're hungry then you're gonna die. We have many more months up here and there won't be any food coming for you."

"Grandpa please?!" cried Cain. "I can't feel my arms."

"Then this is all you were worth," said the grandmaster. "It's a shame though. I thought you'd inherited my will."

"Your will?" said Cain as he wiped his tears.

"Someone has to live on after me in this world," said Wako. "Someone has to follow my footsteps and achieve these forms or else it'll die out forever."

"Why me?" cried Cain.

"I don't know?" said Wako. "But you'll die one way or another if you can't come to grasp the form I sit in now."

Cain lay on the mountain top sure of his death, but ever so slightly, his body lessened its pull on his energy and as he calmed his mind he could feel the muscles in his body lightening their grasp on the energy that fueled him.

Feeling the change in his grandson's demeanor, Wako smiled and thought to himself. _"He's almost there. A little more my boy. Don't die!"_

Within a day's time, his muscles had relaxed and then in a burst of concentration, each one expanded as he too his first ascent to the 'Heavy' form.

"Good job!" shouted Wako as he grabbed his grandson in his embrace. "I've never been so proud in my life."

"Grandpa," said Cain. "I don't feel hungry."

"Nope, you won't feel hungry in this form," said Wako. "But it's strain on the body is dangerous."

"Then why do we use it?" asked Cain.

"Well we use it because it's useful," said Wako as he scratched his head in thought. "But it's most important use is that it's a stepping stone."

"A stepping stone to what?" asked Cain.

Wako smiled a devilish grin and the giant form he now resided in began to contort.

"All the relaxation of your muscles culminates in the massive expansion that is the heavy form," said Wako. "But after that expansion, comes a mass contraction."

Cain watched in amazement at his grandfather's transformation and as he slowly regained consciousness he heard Wako say, "I'm the first Wako to achieve this grand form. Come follow me grandson."

As Jim exited the building, he was actively taunting all the other patrons. He had called an associate on the phone and told him to be ready for the sale. But just before exiting, an open palm collided with Jim's face instantly knocking him unconscious.

"I hate it when a good drink gets ruined by a loud mouth," said a woman's voice.

The owner of the voice pulled out a silver flask from her right short's pocket and took a long swig before looking down at Cain through her onyx colored eyes.

"You're not looking to good," she said as she pulled him to a stand.

"Backhand Jim, were you always this pretty?" Cain said as he squinted to see clearly.

The woman's white shorts had black patches on them that matched her black boots and hanging from them was a tan gourd. She wore a loose cut off t-shirt that currently hung on her arms as it fell from her shoulders. The cut off had horizontal black and white stripes. Underneath the loose shirt she wore a tight, black tank top.

"I'm flattered, but how about we get you somewhere you can sleep off what he drugged you with blueberry," said the white haired woman.

"You're not going anywhere," said a voice from outside.

The woman lifted Cain to her shoulder and turned to see who outside was causing a problem.

Outside were a gang of individuals who seemed to be a lot like Jim.

"That guy's our meal ticket," said one of the men. "You're not leaving here with him."

"Hmmm," she sighed dropping Cain to the floor abruptly and ignoring the 'ow' he grunted out in his stupor. "I don't want trouble. We're just gonna leave and no one will get hurt."

"That's our warning to you, if you just leave him there," said another of the group as he watched the woman take yet another swig from the gourd on her waist. "We're the first and only gang to grace the streets of Camilla in years. You don't stand a chance."

"Mhmm," said the woman as she signaled for them to attack her.

In frustration, one of the men ran at her and swung his fist at the woman. He quickly looked around for her as he never felt his fist connect and when he heard snoring beneath him, he looked down and saw the woman calmly sleeping and drinking at the same time.

He stomped at her and she calmly twisted out of the way in her sleep.

"Argh!" shouted the man before he stomped at her several more times, each time ending in the same result.

When he tired for a moment, she quickly rose up; her head connecting with his jaw.

The man fell to the ground and she swayed from side to side as she took another drink.

"Come on," she said with a drunken smile of her own.

Three attackers came at once and she twisted on one foot, before landing the other on top of one of their skulls.

The force brought his face to the ground and she came to a rest in a split.

The other attackers had missed their attacks as she split and now they aimed to kick her, but both their kicks missed as she swayed to the side and used her arms to twist out of the and back to a stand.

Before they could attack again, she had closed the distance and planted a palm in either of their stomachs, winding the both of them.

More and more attackers suddenly poured out into the street and found herself surrounded.

Noticing the disadvantage of protecting someone and fighting she prepared to flee with Cain until she noticed he was no longer on the ground asleep.

The man was awake and stretching as if now waking from a good nap.

"I'm certain Backhanded Jim drugged you, how are you awake so quickly?" asked one of the gangsters.

"Well, I can't get drunk cause of Grandpa's techniques. So whatever was in my drink probably just wore off. It didn't taste very good either," said Cain forcing a laugh from the woman. "Hey, you're not Jim and who are all these people?"

"They wanted to kidnap you and sell you into slavery," said the woman.

"Hmm, that's not good. I don't want to be a slave. Thanks miss," said Cain.

"You'll trust me so easily? She asked.

"Why not? You seem pretty nice," said Cain.

The woman chuckled lightly, before taking out a spare flask. "The name's Lullaby Vrona!" she shouted as she tossed him the flask.

Cain took a drink of it and his eyes lit up. "That's pretty good!" he shouted with a great smile before tossing it back. "You ready?"

"I guess I was waiting on you blueberry," said Lullaby.

Lullaby tore through the gang members quickly. Each blow intended for her, was quickly averted with a twist and a sway. As she passed different members, she'd plant an open palm on anything she could get her hands on. The stomach, a jaw, a knee cap. She did all this while shifting her gourd from one hand to the other and drinking.

Cain followed suit by effortlessly overpowering hordes of the gang with 'light' punches.

With the massive gang's number dwindling and the night dragging on, Cain and Lullaby actually began to gather an audience. People were cheering on the two lone fighters who were taking out the local gang problem.

A few gang members remained now. Cain closed the distance between himself and two others, before driving an elbow into one's chest and foot into the side of another. Both attacks seemed to crack the bone of the opponent as they both lay on the ground unconscious.

Lullaby engaged the last member directly. He swung an axe at her and her movements were almost too quick to follow.

She caught his wrist with her left hand, planted her right palm into his ribs and finished with her left hand once more up into his jaw. The blow knocked him off his feet for a few seconds before he landed with a thud and initiated cheers from the crowd.

Soon after the Camilla Guard and Ash Camilla were present in the marketplace. Behind him were Amber, Jabari, Auron and Zak.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Auron as he paused his argument with Amber to survey the incapacitated bodies around them.

"Seriously," said Amber. "First off, I won. Secondly, what the hell were you doing out here?"

Cain looked around and said, "I think they wanted to sell me into slavery or something."

"What?!" shouted the group in unison.

"Yeah, but Lullaby helped me," said Cain.

"I don't know how to thank you," said Ash. "Camilla had snuffed out gangs long ago, but this one suddenly resurfaced and gained popularity. It spread like wildfire, but you managed to take down their leader and I'd imagine a lot of their number."

"That's all well and good, but who's the lady?" asked Zak.

"Hmm. I don't know, but she's alright with me," said Cain with a huge grin.

* * *

**March 16, XX99, 7:00 A.M, North Blue, ****Marine Outpost**

Captain Sewell and Kisaro walked into the outpost and awaited their ships next orders.

But as they entered, Kisaro felt a chill crawl up his spine.

"Sir?" he asked warily.

"Just ignore it and maybe it won't bother us," said Sewell.

"Nice to see you Sewell," whispered a voice from just behind the captain. "I hear you're letting pirates go now a days," his raspy voice slithered out.

Without turning around Sewell said, "Nice to see you too, Admiral."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks to MyDearWatson for giving me Lullaby Vrona.**

**Thanks to all of my readers for being patient with me.**

**How's it Going?**

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

If any of the scenes were confusing, feel free to tell me and I'll try my best to improve the clarity or answer questions.

I'd like to remind everyone reading, that in the future I will open up crew slots for OCs, but they'll be special and I'll probably end up giving them away as a prize of some sort. Also, Marines and Asuachi positions are open.

If there is confusion about Cain's Heavy form or any other techniques, message me or head over to the forum and ask. I'll be glad to answer.

Last week, I was surprised to receive a few messages from people saying they were glad I updated as their other stories hadn't updated in a while. So this kinda shocked me because MyDearWatson updates more often than just about everyone on this site. How they do it, I have no idea. I can only imagine it's contributed to the assistance from Dreadburner as well. Anyhow, if you're looking for exceptional quality that's released regularly, then follow them.

**Origm2012 News**

I'm just gonna remind you all that I do have a forum that's used for updating you guys on the status of things. If there's a contest or a poll I'll do it through there. These contests usually involve an in story prize and I have one planned later which will consist of an OC crew position. So if you're interested, I'd suggest following the forum. The link's in my profile. There's also a contest going on right now and as only a few answers have been given and none right so far. Please feel free to give it a shot.

I do have a third story out and while it's listed under Fairy Tail, it actually has very little to do with Fairy Tail itself and more with its universe. If you happen to enjoy my writing, then I recommend you read it.

Thanks for reading.


	8. The Least I Can Do

**Author's Note:**

Greatly appreciate everyone's patience.

If you read my other story, you've already heard this, but I no longer trust my cable company… I'll openly rant about this if I continue so without further ado…

* * *

**March 16, XX99, 7:00 A.M, North Blue, Marine Outpost**

Captain Sewell stood perfectly still. Of all the admirals to be out of the Blues and at this Outpost, if he could have, he would have wished it be anyone, but the man behind him.

"Admiral Yang," Sewell began. "It's good to see you."

Sewell had turned to face the admiral and found himself peering up at the taller man. He stood nearly 8 feet tall and had menacing green eyes. But other than that, not much could be told about his appearance. From head to toe he was wrapped in musky, white bandages. Each limb was individually wrapped so he still moved unhindered. He had an admiral's coat draped on his shoulders and wore a pair of black dress shorts with matching slippers. The bandages had been wrapped tightly around his body to allow for an accurate reimagining of his tall, muscular form. However, with no more than his eyes revealed, no one knew for sure what he looked like.

At Sewell's greeting, the admiral had begun laughing hysterically. "You know it's not a pleasure to see me," said Yang, the bandages around his face moving as a sign of the devilish grin he was likely wearing.

Sewell grimaced at the admiral's disposition. "So what brings you out here to North Blue?" asked Captain Sewell.

"Fleet Admiral Kiria's ordered me to handle some delicate business," said Yang.

"I can't imagine there was anyone more suited for delicate business," Sewell said sarcastically.

"Hahaha," laughed Yang. "You're still quite funny, Sewell. I'm glad you're not dead."

A Marine private walked up to the group, holding drinks for each of them. The tray was shaking in his hands as he approached the group.

Kisaro, Sewell and Yang each took a glass, but before the private could leave, Yang placed an arm around the private's shoulders.

He took a sip from the drink and wrinkled his nose as if it was bitter.

"This was pretty good," he said as he eyed the Private. "A bit sour for my tastes, but still good. Did you make it?"

Kisaro watched as the Marine's skin slowly discolored and stretched thinner and thinner. He was struggling to breathe, let alone answer the question

"I- I didn't," he finally managed.

"Oh," said Yang. "Then you're useless. Go be useless somewhere else."

He pushed the man away from him, but it was as if the marine had dried up. His whole body struggled under its own weight and he eventually fell to the floor, crying out in pain.

"So, why did you let those pirates go?" Yang asked nonchalantly.

"Why did he- Why did you almost kill a man?!" shouted Kisaro.

Yang eyed Kisaro as if he had seen him for the first time. "If he was worth anything, he'd have been fine. The better question is, who are you to question me?"

"I'm Kisaro Ryuden," Kisaro said as he tried to remain unmoving.

"Wako's brat?" asked Yang. "I guess I see the resemblance."

The tall man moved quickly. Faster than anything Kisaro had ever seen. In an instant he had Kisaro pinned to the wall, his fist a foot away from Kisaro's eyes. Then ever so slightly, three blades protruded from between Yang's knuckles until they came to a stop just before Kisaro's face.

The holes caused by the blades now leaked drops of sand, but Kisaro's eyes were frozen on the bandaged man before him.

"Is it you?" asked Yang. "Are you the man who will fight me to the death?"

"I-I-I," was all Kisaro managed.

"Wako promised me that one of his own would kill me one day. So I've been looking forward to that," said Yang as he looked Kisaro up and down. "But clearly that isn't you."

He released Kisaro and retracted the claws in his hands.

"I'd prefer if you didn't butcher my subordinates," said Sewell as he walked over to the two.

"Oh, I see," said Yang. "You managed to get a Wako on your ship. That's impressive. He'll probably be worth something in a few years, if he doesn't get himself killed."

"Now about those pirates?" continued Yang.

"It was a misunderstanding," said Sewell. "I'm under the suspicion that the Asuachi ordered those bounties in order to cover up a series of heinous crimes.

"Hmm," said Yang. "That sounds like something they'd do. Now if one of those dirty bastards wanted to fight. Haha. I'd be more than willing to oblige."

"I don't believe it was any of the saints, though it's more than likely one of them had a hand in managing their businesses out here," said Sewell.

"Hmm," began Yang. "It' sounds like you've gotten yourself wrapped up in something interesting here Sewell. That's good. Since I was also given another mission."

"What do those two things have to do with each other?" asked Sewell.

"Kiria also told me to pass on some orders to you," responded Yang.

"Directly from the Fleet Admiral?" exclaimed Kisaro.

"Yup," said the Admiral. "You're to sail into the Grand Line and launch an investigation into the slave trade which had extended to the Blues."

Sewell and Kisaro's eyes went wide in shock. "Are you serious?" asked Sewell. "If that's the case, I'll likely need more help to launch that investigation. People who can assist in stealth based issues. People who can help get us into places and collect information. There's no way I can just dive into something like that."

"She thought as much. So she put together this dossier with useful names and likely recruits to bolster your odds. Good luck," said Yang.

He handed over the folder of names and pictures and left Kisaro and Sewell alone.

"It looks like we'll be heading into the Grand line," said Sewell as he turned to Kisaro.

* * *

**March 16, XX99, 7:00 A.M, North Blue, Camilla Castle**

The group sat around the large dining room table, each enjoying a meal. Lullaby had been invited to join them at the castle for the night before they set out. Cain and Ash not taking no for an answer after all she had done the night before.

Cain was stuffing his face with some concoction out of the kitchen once more.

Amber had a book in her left hand and a spoon full of soup in her right hand.

Auron had been out since early morning and Zak was inspecting his meal, since he had been ousted from the kitchen earlier.

Jabari was tearing through a piece of fish.

Lullaby was gleefully drinking from her flask and Ash was staring intently at everyone before him.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" asked Amber as she peered over at Lullaby.

The white haired woman peeked over her flask and with a smile said, "It could just as easily be 7 in the evening."

"It's definitely not good to drink so much," said Amber with a final thought on the matter.

"I'm back everybody!" shouted Auron as he burst into the room and dropped several maps onto the table. "I got those maps you asked for Jabari."

"Oh good," said the Eagle as he took one final bite out of the fish and flew over to the maps. Amber quickly moved her seat to get a better look at the maps and they both began charting out the next course of action.

"So where are you all headed?" asked Lullaby as she took another sip.

"South of this island is another island called Tulvise," said Auron. "They were infamous for sending slaves to Varys Island. For some reason they stopped, which must have prompted the attempts to find slaves elsewhere. We're going to see why."

"Why?" she asked as a confused look crossed her face.

"Because we want to," said Cain.

"You want to?" she continued. "What, are you indebted to someone there?"

"Nope."

"Do you like being a hero or something?" asked Lullaby.

"Nope."

"Do you like danger?" she asked again.

"Not particularly."

"Do you even know what you're going to find there?" She pushed further still.

"Not a clue."

"Then why go?" she asked.

"Because," smiled Cain. "We want to."

"It's kind of hard to explain," said Auron. "So that's pretty much the best way my brother can put it. But it just doesn't feel right knowing that someone else could be locked up somewhere while we sail freely. That's my reason."

"So what? You guys plan on freeing every slave everywhere?" asked Lullaby.

"Yeah, I guess," said Cain simply.

This caused laughter to bubble out of Ash who sat across from them and Lullaby to spit out her drink in shock.

"Is that weird?" asked Cain as he laughed nervously.

Lullaby was quiet while Ash continued his laughing. "No, I guess not," she said before taking another drink.

"That's great!" shouted Cain. "So would you like to come with us?"

Everyone's eyes went wide in shock and Lullaby spit out her drink once more.

Her eyes scanned the room to make sure she wasn't the only one who had been shocked by Cain's offer.

She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't imagining things and then stared Cain down to make sure he was serious.

Once she realized he was she simply said, "No."

The room's eyes went wide once more as they half suspected her to say yes.

"Oh come on," laughed Cain. "Why not? We're a decent group of people."

"Yeah, I'm sure. But it's not what I want to do. I've got complimentary drinks down at the bar for a year. That's not a commitment I'm willing to give up on yet," said Lullaby.

"So you'll stay here?" asked Cain. "No. I don't think that works for me. You're better off coming with us."

"Wait," said Lullaby. "Didn't you just give a speech on the importance of doing as one pleases?"

"Exactly," said Cain. "So I'm gonna have you join us."

The group stared at him for a moment as they tried to follow his logic. "That doesn't make any sense!" they all shouted once they got to the end of his train of thought.

"How about a bet?" asked Cain as a huge grin took root on his face.

Lullaby's eyes narrowed. She didn't care to be sailing around with anyone at the moment, but the idea of winning a bet seemed to catch her interests.

Cain seemed to notice this and continued, "If I win, you come with us to at least Tulvise. Afterwards, you're free to do as you please."

The white haired girl thought over the offer and said, "And if I win. You double my free drinks."

"Deal!" shouted Cain. "Now what'll the challenge be?"

"Oh, I've got something in mind," said Lullaby as she got up to leave. "Wait here, I'll be back in a bit."

It took close to an hour, but eventually she returned and with her an army of men carrying in barrel after barrel of beer.

"We'll have a drinking contest," she said triumphantly. "The first person to pass out loses."

A mischievous grin grew upon Cain's face as he sat in front of Lullaby and they each had a drink poured for them.

"I'm betting on the Lullaby," said Amber. "She smells like a distillery."

"I agree," said Jabari. "She seems experienced in the art."

"My money's on Cain," said Zak after thinking about his odds.

"If I bet it's cheating," said Auron. Prompting many of the chefs and the men who had brought in the barrel's to get in on the betting.

"Make sure to at least give it a good try," said Lullaby

"Begin!" shouted one of the men around them and Cain and Lullaby quickly grabbed their mugs and downed the drink.

They repeated this process a few more times and lullaby was quickly impressed by Cain's fortitude.

"Not bad lightweight, let's see you put this technique to work," she said.

They drank half a dozen more and both of them remained unfazed.

"You're really something," hiccupped Cain. "Most people would be at least a little woozy at this point."

"Speak for yourself," said Lullaby. "This is light."

Another 10 minutes passed and they had each cleaned up a dozen drinks.

"This isn't normal," said Amber. "Neither of them should be able to breathe much less laugh and drink like that."

At this point Cain and Lullaby had jumped on top of the royal table and gotten the people around them to start drinking. Even Ash had joined them. Each time they took another drink, the group around them celebrated and took one as well.

With almost 30 minutes having passed since they started, the people around them began to drop like flies, each one blacking out.

"It's not even 9 and their black out drunk," said Auron as he shook his head in disbelief. "This is a new low."

Zak had joined in and quickly fallen out as he now sat in a chair with someone else's hat covering his face as he slept.

Another 15 minutes passed and only Lullaby and Cain remained standing.

"This is insane," hiccupped Lullaby. "I don't think I've ever drunk so much at once in my life."

Jabari looked around at the hundred or so bottles that only belong to the two people standing and inwardly hoped she was telling the truth.

"Another!" cheered Cain as he handed her a drink and picked up his own.

They downed the drinks and Lullaby suddenly felt her legs give out from under her.

She fell off the table and crashed into Zak's sleeping body.

"Argh," he grumbled as he pushed the now sleeping woman off him and curled up in the corner by himself.

"I won?" asked Cain as his senses seemed to have dulled a bit over the last hour.

"Yeah you won," said Auron. "Now do the thing."

"Oh right," said Cain.

He breathed in deeply and then opened his mouth and waited.

Burrrrrp!

His burp seemed to shake the castle slightly as most of the sleeping people even stirred in their sleep.

"Whew," smiled Cain. "That was fun."

"You're okay?" asked a surprised Amber.

"Yup," said Cain. "I can't get drunk."

"You're definitely a monster," said Amber.

"Yeah. He's definitely something," said Lullaby who had quickly gotten up.

"You're no better!" shouted Amber and Jabari. "How are you up?"

"Oh that," said Lullaby. "I just needed a little nap. I can keep going, but something tells me we'll run out of barrels long before you or I crash."

"Probably," laughed Cain. "But a bet's a bet, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Lullaby as she took a drink from her personal flask. "I'll come with you to Tulvise, but I won't be sticking around. Free drinks isn't something easily given up."

"She's drinking again?" Amber half shouted. "Fine. Welcome aboard."

"Welcome aboard!" cheered a drunken Zak from where he slept.

* * *

**March 16, XX99, 7:00 P.M, Camilla Island's Port**

Cain, Auron, Amber, Jabari, Zak, and Lullaby were all brought down to the port later that night.

Ash had decided to keep his wits about him and drank less than most people that morning. From the time he met the group, he knew there was something special about them. They were something innately different than most of the people he'd met through politics, trade and even simply protecting his country.

So in his mind, the little secret he'd been holding onto since the morning was little to repay the hundreds, no thousands of people they'd helped.

Ash turned to the group and said, "I don't know how to put into words all you've done for my country and the rest of North Blue."

"No need to thank us Ash," said Cain. "We're just doing what we want to do."

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that," chuckled Ash. "So I went ahead and had this fixed up for you all."

He pointed to his right and all of the group instantly looked up and peered into the open sky.

"I don't see how you could have made the sky Ash," said Cain as Auron nodded in agreement

"No it's not the s-"

"Yeah, are you still drunk?" asked Amber before Jabari added, "I do believe he is."

"I get Cain, but you guys can't hones-"

"We drank over a hundred drinks and neither of us is that delirious," said Lullaby.

"I'm not talking abou-"

"Hmm, If you give me 13 minutes. I can whip up something to cure that hang over Ash," said Zak.

Each of their comments further aggravated the monarch and eventually he shouted, "I'm not talking about the damn sky! Who the hell could make that mistake? I get Cain, but all of you. Seriously! I'm talking about the god damned ship!"

His face was flush with anger and he was breathing heavily.

"Geez," said Amber. "Someone's an angry drunk."

His eyes widened, but before he could explode again, Auron stopped him. "Did you say you got us a ship?"

"Yes!" shouted Ash before he composed himself again. "Yes."

The group's eyes went wide and then like a kid at the candy store, Cain broke the line first and jumped onto Ash, throwing him to the ground.

"You got us a ship!" he shouted. Wooooooooo!"

He was back on his feet, holding Ash above his head. "We got a ship! He got us a ship! Our very own ship! Wait I can't sail a huge ship like this!"

"I can," called Amber as she was already aboard the ship.

"Yay!" shouted Cain.

He stepped back with Ash in one hand and his arm slung around Auron's shoulder. "It's beautiful," said Cain.

The ship was the size of a caravel ship. The outside of the ship was had been painted a dark blue color with a bright white trim. There was one massive sail in the center of the deck and on the top deck at the back; Zak could already be seen inspecting what was clearly a miniscule garden.

However, Cain's happy, teary eyes were locked on the figureheads which rested at the front and back of the ship. Towards the front was a dark blue lion's head and towards the back was an all-white lion's head.

Ash seemed to catch Cain's expression and said, "Yeah. I had a feeling you'd appreciate that. It felt right. Two lions circling each other is the Wako symbol, right?"

"Yeah," said Auron. "It is."

He was certain his brother was thinking the same thing. With one lion looking one way and the other opposite it, it almost seemed to feel like they were fighting with their backs to one another.

"Does she have a name?" asked Cain.

"Yup," said Ash as he looked from brother to brother. "It's called the Twin Wako."

"Alright, alright," chuckled Cain. "That's about as much as I can take and still keep a straight face. I can't thank you enough Ash."

They got on board the ship Zak could be heard hurling pots and pans from beneath them.

"You think he's alright?" asked Auron.

"I hope so," said Cain. "I'm starving."

"You're a bottomless pit," Lullaby nearly gagged once she thought over the countless meals Cain had eaten that day.

To their right was a wall with two windows and a door in the center. Above the room was the back of the deck where the blue lion and the miniature garden sat.

They entered the room under the deck towards the back of the ship and found it was made of a wood with white tiled floors.

It had a small dining table pressed against the wall on the right, a couch, windows to the back and sides of the room and in the center was a steering wheel. Amber bounced up the stairs leading down below and quickly announced that there were rooms down below. Everyone's eyes narrowed at the red head before they burst past her. Jabari stayed behind with Amber and Ash, while he continued to explain where more substantial parts of the ship rested.

Cain, Lullaby and Auron each searched for rooms, running past an already cooking Zak as they did so.

They passed a door with a claw mark in it and assumed it was Zak's. They passed another which said 'Enter at your own peril' and moved passed it as none of them dare cross that boundary.

Cain and Auron quickly found rooms afterwards and Lullaby entered one herself.

"What's the matter? You don't like it?" asked Cain when he noticed the odd look on her face.

"Why does it matter? You said you weren't staying," added Auron.

She took a drink, smiled and said, "Would you prefer I stay with you in the mean time?"

"No no. Carry on," said Auron as he left them.

It was quiet for a bit longer before Cain added, "If you decide you want to stay or if you leave and want to come back, this room will still be yours."

She smiled without turning to him, but once she had turned she quickly said, "I want that rematch."

"When did we agree to a rematch?" he shouted out.

This forced a laugh from her again and she took off towards the kitchen and began rummaging for something to drink.

* * *

**March 16, XX99, 7:00 P.M, Grand Line, Asuachi's Alpha Headquarters**

"To think they'd have me come all the way back to Paradise for a meeting," said an older man. "These children have gained some nerve."

The older man was walking down a brightly lit hallway. Most of the Asuachi in the hall way practically through themselves out of his way in an attempt to avoid him.

He was tall and muscular and even though he was nearly 60, his body remained in peak condition. His hair had faded to white, but its original tint of red could be seen just barely. His face held a few wrinkles, but other than that it was only the look of disgust which bared significance. His thick moustache had greyed as well. He wore a black Asuachi coat, which covered an extremely dark red suit. His shoes were a pearly white shade though.

Each step seemed to bring fear to those around him, but he'd soon be out of their hair as he was nearing a large pair of double doors, he was sure would house a circular room and the usual 10 seats.

He pushed the doors and he felt 9 pairs of eyes shoot towards him.

"Hmm, I'm the last one here," said the old man.

"Of course you are," cackled a voice from across the room. "The Omega Headquarters is so far away."

A grunt could be heard from across the room as a pale blue hand slammed down on the table.

"No matter how far away you were, you should have been more prudent," hissed a woman with a scar sitting on her collar bone.

"You've all gotten full of yourselves," said the older man. His hand pressed down on the table and soon the circular table split in half followed by the entire room.

Each of the 9 occupants could be heard cursing at the man before them.

"Now that we've come to an understanding," said the man. "Someone get a new table because I, Noe Raze, call this Saint's meeting to order.

* * *

**March 16, XX99, 10:00 P.M, Camilla Island's Port**

The group waved good bye to Ash as they sailed out of the port. The excitement had gotten the better of them and they decided to set out immediately.

Zak had finished cooking his meal and the group decided to sit out in the middle of the ship and eat outside.

They had been mostly taking in the night and laughing about different things when Lullaby brought out a small guitar from her belongings.

She wrinkled her nose as she was sure the others were now curious to see if she was actually gonna play something.

Then from the first strum to her first note, they sank back into their meal happily. Their ship sailed through the night and they listened to her gentle strumming.

"The drunkards got some use after all," teased Amber for which she received a smile from Lullaby. "I'm gonna go check the charts," she added.

She was gone for no more than a moment before she burst back onto the deck.

"Guys," she began nervously. "I forgot the charts back in Camilla."

They all eyed her in silence.

"Is that all?" shouted Cain. "Come sit and eat."

"How the hell are we supposed to get there now?" asked Amber. "We have to turn back."

"Ahh, it'll be fine. We'll get there," laughed Cain.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks to MyDearWatson for giving me Lullaby Vrona and for the quick appearances of some of the Saints.**

**Thanks to all of my readers for being patient with me.**

**How's it Going?**

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

If any of the scenes were confusing, feel free to tell me and I'll try my best to improve the clarity or answer questions.

My apologies, but I shut off my laptop during the first writing of this chapter and I forgot to save... So I managed to erase pretty much a scene a half. I recovered the half, but left the other scene for a later chapter as it suddenly fit better that way.

Fun Fact #1: So I decided to give this a try. Every now and then I'll give a fun fact about something related to the story. When I was thinking of a direction to go in for the story, I passed over many ideas for the character that would be Auron. I had him with several Logia fruits. I had him with Chopper's fruit as Oda mentioned something interesting about it. I even had him with Kilo-Kilo fruit… When I couldn't decide I called up a friend and asked for a fruit suggestion. All they said was Moriah's and then they hung up, granted it was late. However, after I got to thinking of how I could use Moriah's fruit and thus Auron was born.

**Origm2012 News**

There's a forum for people who want to know when something delays the story.

Thanks for reading.


	9. He doesn't Understand

**Author's Note:**

So a quick note before we begin. I made a mistake last chapter with the design of the ship. For story purposes I had changed it a long time ago to a lion and somehow when I wrote it last week, I forgot to make that change and used the original design. I've updated the last chapter. It's not a huge issue. In place of two wolves' heads are now two lion's heads is all. It's important later on which is why I had made that change. Sorry for the inconvenience. Enjoy.

* * *

**March 16, XX99, 10:00 P.M, Grand Line, Asuachi's Alpha Headquarters**

"These meetings take too damn long," grumbled Saint Raze as he walked back through the double doors. "To think I'd have to come all this way for a silly little meeting."

The elderly saint had made it back through the hall way and up to his suite door before he addressed the eyes he felt fixed on him.

He wrinkled his nose at their poor attempt to conceal themselves and said, "Ahh, how the standard for espionage has fallen."

"I don't think the standard applies to people like you Saint Raze," laughed a voice from around the corner. "But in my defense. It did take you quite some time to notice me."

The old man bounded off the walls at a frightening speed and came to a halt behind the owner of the voice before they could move. "Don't be a fool," said Raze. "I noticed you the moment I left the meeting. I was just curious to see how sloppy you'd be."

The man before Raze breathed a sigh of defeat and playfully turned to face his superior with a wide grin and narrowed eyes. His name was Cardinal Koji Fukushima. Koji was a member of the Asuachi who actually served there in the Alpha base and if he was here spying on Saint Raze then it was likely one of the two Saints who operated out of this base sent him.

Koji Fukushima was nearly a foot and a half shorter than Raze at around 6 feet. He was clothed in simple black robes, the Asuachi symbol etched into the back. However, it was the mischievous feeling that his sly smile emitted that normally threw people off.

"Now let's see," began Raze. "I doubt Saint Baum sent you, so that only leaves Saint Jones."

"My oh my," teased the silver eyed Cardinal. "You're much too clever for me."

Saint Raze narrowed his eyes at the Cardinal in frustration and for a brief moment he truly considered simply killing the troublesome man, but he was interrupted by another Asuachi.

"Leave him be Raze," came a woman's voice as she walked near the pair. "I sent him."

"Always disrespectful," sighed Raze. "You never learn Saint Jones."

"It's just a title," said the woman. "You'll get over it."

Saint Dani Jones was a tall, muscular grey-skinned great white shark fishman. Her long brown hair went down to her waist. She was slim, but her body had been pushed to a physical peak. Sharp, triangular teeth lined her jaw and her nose was snubbed. Her sleeveless black shirt had little cartoon looking sharks on it and on her left arm was a Jolly Roger which she wore with pride. She had on simple sandals and brown shorts which were tied off with a purple sash around her waist.

"Why shouldn't I kill this man for spying on a Saint?" said Raze as he continued to scan the Cardinal.

"I had business to attend to, but wanted to speak with you. He was supposed to tell you this," Dani spat out as she too now eyed Koji.

Koji chuckled nervously and raised his hands in surrender. "I thought it'd be fun to play a quick game, but I guess I was wrong."

"Run along Koji," said Dani.

With Koji leaving both Saints behind, they walked throughout the base and discusses the contents of the meeting further.

"I don't like what you were insinuating in the meeting Raze."

"No, Saint Jones?" asked Raze. "Then your best course of action is to not be so sloppy. Word of your unit's lack of tact had already reached the New World. It was only a matter of time before I heard and did you expect me to praise your failures."

Saint Jones bit her lip to keep from saying something she'd likely regret. It was true, they were all saints. But he was the only one powerful to command an entire base by himself. A unit full of monstrous people all serving under one monster on the other side of the world.

"I'm busy enough dealing with actual pirates," said Raze. "You losing a slave operation here or there to marines or wannabe pirates is of no concern to me. Your Cardinal should have handled his operation better."

"Yes," she spit out quickly. "We've already rectified the situation and Descen will be heading into the blues to personally address the issue."

"That's exactly my point," grumbled Saint Raze. "You brats have gotten soft and full of yourselves at the same time. In all my years, a Cardinal traveling to the Blues has never been necessary. Despicable. A travesty. I should gut your whole unit and have fresh operatives put in place."

He turned to her and extended a hand towards her face, the surroundings shaking ever so slightly as he neared her. "I should terminate you for your lack of leadership now," he said as his eyes narrowed on her. Then he quickly stopped himself and his expression calmed. "If I have to return to Paradise for your unit's failure. It'll be the last time we speak."

His words infuriated her, but for her unit's sake, she stood in silence as she watched the older Saint walk off towards his room. She was angry, but whatever was happening to her operations in the North Blue certainly wasn't normal. Descen should have had operatives there who could handle any issues.

"What the hell is happening over there?" seethed Jones.

* * *

**March 17, XX99, 1:00 P.M, North Blue Sea, Hopefully South of Camilla**

"Ohhhhhhhhhh, are we there yet?" sang Cain for the millionth time as he bounced around the ship's deck.

He landed beside Amber and slowly poked the red head's cheek causing her to shake in irritation.

"I'm gonna kill him," she whispered in a near broken state forcing a laugh from Lullaby.

"You need a drink Red," chuckled Lullaby as she took a drink from her flask.

"So that's a no?" he asked again.

"You can see the sea, the same as me!" she shouted.

"Ohhhhhhhh. That was a tongue twister," laughed Cain as he began the first of many attempts to say the phrase as fast as he could.

He went on and on for a few minutes, Lullaby joining in every now and then between drinks and slowly the phrase got turned into a song. With both Cain and Lullaby performing a sort of can-can dance on the railing.

Amber was slowly inching towards them with her hands outstretched as she contemplated her sanity with this pair around.

Jabari's claws were locked onto her back keeping her mostly locked in place as he fought her attempt to knock them over.

"Lunch!" shouted Zak as he came onto the top deck causing Amber to jump in shock.

Cain hopped from the railing over to the cook to survey their lunch for the day. Zak had been making sure to ration out what they had as Amber had made it clear that they were lost. Without her charts and tools she'd normally rely on the sky to determine her direction, but as luck would have it a massive cloud had hovered over them for the last 24 hours and it didn't seem to be breaking anytime soon.

Auron sat atop the lion's head to the back of the ship. He didn't really care for big ships in general. It was something he couldn't really explain, but with the childhood he and Cain had, it was clear that he'd end up on one, one way or another, so he had accepted it a long time ago. To keep his mind clear he sat in silence.

He had been over there for most of their short trip and Cain has said it was better to just leave him be until he came down himself which is why he almost fell from the figurehead when he heard a voice beside him.

"Your brother is driving me crazy," said Amber as she breathed deeply. "If you don't stop him, I'll likely end up killing him."

"Mmhm," was all Auron managed before he returned to silence and stared off into the distance.

"Isn't this great," said Amber as she got back up in a huff. "One's driving me crazy and the other is in another world."

Between the meal Cain, Lullaby and Zak were having Cain managed to catch a glimpse of Amber angrily walking away from Auron.

His brow furrowed as he watched his sullen brother and although he knew she had nothing to do with the way he was now, he couldn't stop himself from approaching her.

"I told you it was best to leave him be for now," Cain said harshly.

The change in his tone brought everyone's attention to him immediately.

At first Amber was caught off guard as the usually joking man was never harsh with anyone and then her usual fire ignited in response.

"I don't remember having to listen to you," she spit out. "If it wasn't for me, you and he would've drowned. Water boy."

A sly smile crossed his face and while Cain was never one for arguments, his insightfulness usually helped him get under people's skin fairly easily.

"And if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be lost," he teased.

Her face went red, nearly matching her hair as a wave of anger washed over her. But, as Cain was right, she was momentarily at a loss for words.

Before she could formulate her response, Cain slapped an arm around her shoulder and with a huge grin said, "It's not that serious. Don't worry about him. I'm sure he's not angry you got us lost."

Her anger reached a boiling point and with a quick punch to his jaw she knocked Cain into the water. "You're the one who said we didn't have to turn back!"

Cain resurfaced, spewing water like a fountain and still laughing. "I didn't know navigation was going to be such a big deal," he laughed as he swam back to the ship.

"You didn't know?!" she yelled in genuine shock.

"Yeah. It's not like it's necessary right? We'll get there eventually," he responded seriously.

Her eyes went wide with a mix of shock and anger.

"Oi! Cain. You might want to stop while you're ahead," laughed Lullaby.

"I think it's too late," added Zak as he pointed to the missing red head.

Slowly the ship turned from where Cain was swimming.

"What the hell?" laughed Cain. "Guys. Wait up!"

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 4:00 P.M, North Blue Sea, Hopefully South of Camilla**

"Yup, that's definitely land. Not bad Red," said Lullaby to herself as she squinted at a piece of rock in the distance. "I better go tell them, but first I should finish this drink."

A week had passed out on the sea and eventually Zak and Lullaby had managed to get Amber to slow down for Cain to get back on board. She expected him to be angry and for the argument to continue, but other than his initial harshness he had been in his joking manner the entire time. He came back onto the ship congratulating her on a good joke.

The following week saw Amber be relentlessly cold towards Cain and he be his naturally goofy self.

"Hmm, what's wrong Amber?" asked Cain as he climbed the stairs from the rooms into the navigation room.

She barely acknowledged him with a grunt. It wasn't something she was used to. For someone to react so lackadaisically to everything wasn't normal. But there was no denying he had been cold with her when she spoke to Auron.

Auron himself had remained atop the figurehead or in his room at all times and so the redhead was at a loss for how to act. Jabari himself couldn't seem to figure out a means of a 'proper course of action' as he put it.

She felt something poking her cheeks and she closed her eyes hoping she'd be left alone. But when the feeling remained, her eyes shot open in rage. "What the hell do you want?!" she shouted.

"I was told that I may have acted poorly this last week. Although I'm not sure how, I certainly didn't mean to offend you," he said.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh. Well it's alright I suppose," she began. "As long as you know how important navigation is."

"Definitely," he laughed. "If I had known, I would have found a navigator to sail with us. Those people are really useful aren't they?"

Jabari who had been pleasantly surprised now sat perched with his jaw wide open at the turn of events. He was silently preparing for the worst, but before it could get any worse Zak walked in.

"You found land Amber," he said with a slight smile.

A moment later, Lullaby crashed into the room. "I was gonna – hiccup – tell them," she managed. "What the hell?"

"If you had told them it was likely we'd end up getting lost again," Zak said as he dragged her from the room down into the kitchen. "I've been meaning to try this sobering mixture and now seems like a perfect time."

Lullaby could be heard kicking and fighting as the wolf dragged her down the stairs.

"That's great," said Cain as he shot a smile at Amber. "I'll go tell Auron and who knows maybe there will be a navigator for hire or something on this island."

Cain exited the room, genuinely excited at the prospect of a navigator joining their group, completely unaware of the weight his words carried.

"Amber," Jabari said softly.

She stayed quiet and then ever so slightly, a small tear dropped from her eyes.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 5:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

Amber steered the ship towards the island which seemed to be covered in nothing, but luscious greenery. As the Twin Wako came about the island, a chain of two more island behind it came into view. The group noted that the island they were currently at and the island farthest from them were nothing, but greenery. However, the middle island seemed to be locked in a state of excitement.

It was covered in decorations and vibrant lights shined from that shore to the dock they were currently at. Music and singing could be faintly heard from where they were and as they anchored the ship, fireworks shot into the sky coloring it in green and blue and red.

"We've got to go there," cheered Cain.

"I agree!" joined Lullaby. "I'm running out of liquor."

"We've got at least 4 more barrels on the ship," Zak said calmly as he thought over his inventory.

"Exactly," she said.

His mind flashed to how many they had last week and he hung his head in defeat.

As they were already off the ship and standing on the dock that led into the quiet jungle, Auron's mood had already lightened.

"We've come here to collect charts for Amber to use during her navigation," he said in a matter of fact voice.

With no one having heard him speak in essentially a week, most of the group was surprised that he quickly resumed his voice of reason role.

"Ahh, you're right," sighed Cain. "It's best that we search this island for charts before moving on."

Another peculiarity was how quickly Cain was reined in, something which Jabari seemed to pick up on.

"It's fine," Amber said coldly. "I'll search for it. You guys go and enjoy the party."

The red head walked off with Jabari following closely behind her. Zak watched her for a few moments before he felt compelled to follow after her.

"I don't care much for things like that," he said as he pointed to the other island. "I'll go with her. You guys make sure to at least get some supplies."

He hopped back onto the ship and emerged a minute late with two small transponder snails.

"I found these down in the kitchen and almost killed them before reading the note on them," said Zak. He pulled the note loose from the snail and handed it over to Auron.

It only read, Dear Zak, don't eat them.

With that the group split into two. Amber, Zak and Jabari to find charts on the first island while Cain, Auron and Lullaby sailed to the next island.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 5:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

"What do you mean she's our navigator?!" shouted Cain. "I thought she was just doing that in the meantime."

Lullaby actually managed to spit out her drink in surprise. The entire time she thought Cain had been teasing Amber and now she realized just how dense he actually was.

Despite his dislike for big ships and sailing, Auron was currently steering the big ship towards the party island. He had been taught how by Grandmaster Wako, however Auron shuddered when he thought how unenjoyable an experience that had been for the both of them.

"You can't be serious," laughed Lullaby.

"If that's true, I must have seemed like quite an asshole," said Cain. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Me and Wolfman did," continued Lullaby. "But apparently you messed that up."

Cain thought over all he said and fell to his knees in defeat. "I messed up Auron!" he cried. "I didn't think she could really navigate. I thought she was just giving it her best shot for us after she lost the charts."

"Tell me brother," began Auron. "Why would she have been the one to hold the charts in the first place if she wasn't going to be navigating?"

The realization hit Cain as he pieced the information together and in a depressed voice he said, "I'm a terrible person."

"You gonna apologize now?" asked Lullaby as she gestured for Auron to hand him the transponder snail.

He breathed deeply. "Nope," he sighed.

"Hmph. Why not?" she asked.

"Always correct a wrong in person," said Cain. "That's one of the lessons Wako live by."

"That's nice and what not," began Lullaby. "But what if she decides she isn't coming back with us because of how you acted and she runs off."

"That's simple," he said. "Then I'd chase her down until I could right the wrong in person."

The group arrived on the middle island and they were quickly welcomed by the citizens of the island.

"Welcome to the Troika Isles!" they cheered.

They were dressed in grass skirts and had necklaces made of flowers hung around their necks.

The trio was immediately drawn into a celebration. The people danced and the music roared throughout the island with more and more fireworks going off.

Auron decided it might be better to take care of their to-do list before joining in and so he looked around for Cain and Lullaby. The notion of who exactly he was looking for hit him and he hung his head in defeat. If he had only realized who he was with earlier he'd have opted to go with Amber, but now he was stuck with glorified babysitting.

He scanned the crowd once he realized they had already begun celebrating and caught glimpses of blue hair and white hair bouncing throughout the crowd, people celebrating wherever the blue and white went.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 5:30 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

Amber, Zak and Jabari trudged through the jungle-terrain. They could still hear the celebrations from where they were, but neither of them was really making much of a sound so that likely contributed to their ability to hear the music still.

"Why'd you come with me?" asked Amber.

"Like I said, big parties really aren't my thing," he said. "So I figured I was better off going with you."

"So you're keeping an eye on me," she deduced aloud.

"You're smart Red," he said with a slight smile easing over his face, knowing she didn't care for the Lullaby's nickname.

She spun on him at the sound of the nickname and when she caught his boyish grin, she couldn't help, but smile as well.

"I guess it's not that bad a nickname," she said forming her own smile.

"It's certainly better than Waterboy," he added.

The nickname brought back Cain to her thoughts and with him all of the anger she felt over how, to the best of her knowledge, he'd purposely belittled her skills and even gone so far to say they'd find a navigator.

"Cain's going to find a navigator for his crew and then I'll be leaving," she said in a sullen tone. "The least I can do is replace all of the stuff I lost and leave."

"I had a feeling it was something like that which had you all depressed instead of angry," he said. "But I don't think the guy has a mean bone in his body. I don't think he'd purposely hurt your feelings. It's even more likely that he didn't even know you could navigate."

"You can't honestly believe that," she said with an arched eyebrow. "I've been sailing and steering for us since we all met."

"True," he began as they continued walking. "But I don't think he even knew what navigation was until you said it. Even more so than that, I don't think he realizes that the world will see someone like him as a pirate."

"Now I know you're joking Zak," said Amber. "There's no way he could be that dense. We have bounties. The Marines wanted to arrest us. We fought with the Asuachi. If he doesn't know he's a pirate then he shouldn't be the captain."

This threw Zak into a fit of laughter and the trio had to stop.

"That's my point exactly," chuckled Zak. "I don't think he sees himself as a captain of any sort. We might see it that way since no matter how I look at it, he's what pulled everyone onto this ship, but I don't think he's the kind of guy to look at things that way."

"Zak has a point Amber," added Jabari. "I can't recall him or Auron referring to themselves as pirates even once. As a matter of fact, you're the first one to refer to the group as a crew."

Amber stood a bit perplexed. Could Cain really be that dense? Could he really not see what path his choices added up to? If that was the case, he could very well have not even known he was hurting her feelings when he joked with her. She shook off those thoughts and they continued walking through the jungle as they neared other voices as well.

"I don't he's that stupid," she added as a final note on that matter.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 6:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

"I'm gonna do it!" shouted a half-naked Cain as he stood at the top of a fountain made out of red fruit punch.

The crowd cheered him on alongside Lullaby and Auron hung his head in shame.

He jumped into the air, tucked into a cannonball and then opened into a dive aimed at a pool of fruit punch. The crowd was silent for a moment and then he emerged cheering and they all joined in as well.

The festivities continued this way until a man standing just over 7 feet came up to the trio. He was shirtless, but wore brown sandals and bright green swim trunks. His tanned skin was riddled with scars and on his waist he had several guns hanging from a gun. His black hair was cut short and his brown eyes met Cain's in the water.

Cain quickly jumping from the water once he felt the tension radiating from the man.

"Captain Morn, would like to see you," said the man.

"Oh really," laughed Cain. "Is that name supposed to mean something to me?"

He turned to face away from Cain, revealing the Jolly Roger of a cracked skull which was tattooed onto his back.

"I'm his first mate, Wally," said the pirate. "And he's the owner of these islands."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks to:**

**InariKurenai for giving me Dani Jones **

**WalkingOnTheWater for giving me Koji Fukushima**

**Thanks to all of my readers for being patient with me.**

**How's it Going?**

If there are any issues at all with how I'm portraying your OCs, please let me know.

Apologies for the shorter chapter. In all honesty, I was caught up in some personal stuff and cut it shorter to accommodate that. Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter still.

And Bam! OC submissions are open again. It feels like it's been months since I've had to openly request OCs for something. But here we are. 1st Mate Wally and his Captain will need a crew. I'll gladly accept up to 6 OCs for them with only 2 of them having devil fruits. The devil fruit spots are first come first serve, should the rest of the OC pan out. However, be aware I may have to scale down their strength if it turns out to be too much. Keep in mind we're early into the story. I'll definitely be more stringent about OC acceptance here as it's for a specific unit. The pirate crew Wally belongs to will have a decent role in the story.

If any of the scenes were confusing, feel free to tell me and I'll try my best to improve the clarity or answer questions.

**Origm2012 News**

There's a forum for people who want to know when something delays the story.

Thanks for reading.


	10. What Are You Misfits?

**Author's Note: **It has been exceptionally long since I updated this story and for that I'm terribly sorry. I could give a plethora of legitimate excuses for why, but I'm sure if I look back I could find time where I could have gotten this written. So once more, you all have my apologies. Onto more important things though.

I've got a few things I want to address before moving onto the chapter. My inbox is apparently broken and I don't get updated properly on messages. If you've been messaging me and I haven't gotten back to you, it isn't because I'm : "A rude *****", "Avoiding you", or my favorite "Decided I'm better than fanfiction". I'm truly grateful for all of you no matter the gap between my updates and I've simply missed the message.

The arc that I left this story on, and which I'm going to complete, will not be one I enjoy. You might be wondering, why tell us that. I have to write this arc. It's essential to who the crew will be in the world of One Piece. I truly appreciate all of you, but messages and reviews that critique Cain as a 'Bad Pirate King' confuse the hell out of me. Think carefully… Did I ever publically say, he was gonna be pirate king… This arc should help add direction for what I think the crew's purpose is. The reason I say I won't enjoy it is because I'm not in the same mindset I was many months ago. I'm a different person and the outline for this arc is no longer one I agree with, but it is still one I know I need. The only foreseeable consequence is that I may compress the arc to be much shorter than I planned and then add a different arc before the first major arc of the story.

So without any further delay. Let's begin.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 6:30 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

"Huh? Why?" asked a bewildered Cain. "If he's in charge of such a great party he'll probably want to join in. Tell him to come here and we'll all have a good time."

Almost every partygoer's face went pale and the music seemed to taper off quickly. With Cain gleefully smiling at the man, he hadn't noticed the shift in atmosphere like Auron and Lullaby had. Auron's hand quickly went to the hilt of his blade as he prepared for whatever tension was building.

Luckily, all tension dispersed the moment a pair of boots was heard coming towards walking through the crowd. Eventually the owner was beside the first mate Wally. He was a scruffy looking individual who stood just under 7 feet. His clothes had countless tears in them and looked dirty in general, but the man wore a proud grin on his face.

"Welcome to the Troika Isles!" his deep, friendly voice bellowed. "My name is Jason Morn, captain of the Broken Sun Pirates and you are?"

"I'm Cain Wako," began the blue haired man.

"Wako?!" exclaimed the pirate captain as he drew his sword, prompting Wally and Auron to do the same. "So a marine then?

"Nope," Cain said with his grin intact.

"An Asuachi?" Captain Morn puzzled.

"Nope," continued Cain.

"So a Wako as a pirate, that's a first," said the pirate captain.

"I'm not a pirate either," Cain chuckled.

"So what are you?" yelled an impatient Wally.

"I'm just a guy," Cain said simply forcing a laugh from Auron and Lullaby. "And those are my friends."

"So you're not here to attack my islands?" Morn asked for verification.

"No sir," Cain said as he finally hopped out of the fountain and extended a hand to the pirate.

"Well alright then!" cheered the pirate captain as he eyed the citizens who had stopped to watch what was happening. "Why's the music off, let's get back to partying. I'll show you guys around."

Cain cheerily walked over to Lullaby and Auron as Captain Morn discussed something in private with Wally. He seemed to be explaining something important to his subordinate, but Cain was too excited over having found such an amazing place.

"He seems like a pretty good guy," said Cain. "I don't think we'll have much trouble getting supplies from here."

On one hand Auron was pleased his brother was thinking about supplies, but on the other hand he couldn't shake the weird feeling he got from the other party people. And after Captain Morn's arrival, things seemed to get a bit stranger.

Lullaby even noted that some people were leaning up on bar stools and walls just to support themselves. Neither she nor Auron were sure, but the people looked relieved when the Captain's arrival forced the music to die down.

However, none of them looked distressed or in pain. If anything it was just the opposite. They were happy to keep dancing so both Auron and Lullaby kept their feelings of uneasiness to themselves and pushed it out of mind as they followed Cain and Captain Morn.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 6:30 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

Amber and Zak had been trekking through the first island in search of people or civilization in general, but there seemed to be nothing of major importance. The jungle air carried a low buzzing noise they had each chocked up to bugs as they kept moving. However, as they got closer to the center of the island they became increasingly aware of the sound of people; a sound which got louder and clearer as they continued. It was the sound of people whimpering and trying to shush one another all at once.

"Do you hear that?" asked Amber to which Zak shook his head prompting both of them to take off as fast as possible in that direction. Amber, Zak and Jabari came to a halt outside of what appeared to be a circular camp of some sort.

"What the hell?" was all the red head managed as her eyes took in the scene of whole families crammed into cages. Men, women and children of all ages were all in tears. Those that weren't in tears were being forced to work in what was the beginning of a field.

"Do you think these islands have some sort of slave law?" she asked as she turned to Zak. However, Zak was no longer there and she didn't have to wait long to figure out where he was a deafening screech sound drew her eyes right to him.

He'd walked out into the camp and begun dragging a now wolf-like claw along the cell walls. Every pause in the screech marked a cell being broken open.

"Holy shit," Amber managed in surprise as she turned to Jabari for assurance that this was really happening.

Yells could be heard coming from people dressed in torn clothes as they charged Zak.

The wolf man turned on them with a fierce rage and dove straight through the group, clawing the people who hadn't been fast enough to dodge. With the shock of the entire situation fading, Amber leapt into battle to protect Zak and the prisoners. She could tell they were pirates from the Jolly Roger tattoo of a cracked skull on their bodies, but she couldn't figure out how or why pirates would have a slave camp.

Zak walked through the camp like a man on a mission, tearing through pirate after a pirate with little effort. However, his blind rage left him his back wide open, forcing his red headed friend to swat down any assailant as quickly as possible. She dove across the camp over and over like a red blur to strike away anyone Zak missed.

All the while, she screamed for his attention. "Zak! Listen to me Zak! I want to help them to, but we've gotta think about this. Someone could get hurt."

"That's the plan," he said coldly as another claw found its way through a pirate's chest.

"S-stop right t-there," cried one of the pirates as he held a sword to a young child's throat. "I'll kill her if you move."

Zak's eyes went wide and he almost moved automatically to attack the man without regards for the consequences, but Amber was quick to figure out what might happen and tripped him with a sweep of his legs.

"You better have a good rea-" was what he managed, before Jabari's shadow darted over them at the man. He clawed at the man's eyes and the young girl got free. A moment later, Amber hurled her spear at the man, pinning him to a tree just out of the clearing.

"You almost got that kid killed, because you lost yourself!" Amber shouted.

Zak's eyes welled up in disgust for his lack of tact, but the red head didn't give him any time for self-pity. "We've got to figure out what to do next if you've broken some type of slave law on these islands, do any of you know if there's a dock of some sort?"

"Why a dock," asked Zak.

"If there's a dock, there's a ship. And if there's a ship, there are maps. Plus I can't imagine what we're going to do with all of these people. Where are you all from?"

Slowly the people gave all sorts of answers that eventually led to one simple synopsis. They had been sailing, went to the party island, partied until they couldn't stand and when they awoke, they were forced to work here.

That synopsis led to a terrible realization. Their friends were in danger. "We've got to move fast," Amber practically screamed. But before she could even make a decision as to what to do, another voice interrupted her with a blaring scream.

"What have you done!?" came a women's shrill voice. "I'll tear you apart. I'll tear all of them apart and I'll scatter your remains for the birds."

This woman wore dark fitted pants with a dark blue corset. She had on black boots with 5 inch heels and for all intents and purposes would have been attractive with her long black hair, modest curves and appealing features, but her eyes currently held a look that screamed, 'I'll hunt down everything you ever loved for what you've done'.

Above her left breast was a cracked skull symbol. She drew two small Sais and pierced the skull ever so slightly so a trickle of blood made its way free and said, "On my name as the wife of captain Morn, I'll skewer you both."

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 7:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

Cain, Lullaby and Auron had been taken around the party site to one of the higher VIP sections. Captain Morn and his subordinates had treated them with the best they had to offer bringing Lullaby and Cain drink after drink, while Auron declined to indulge in the party.

"Oh come on boy, are you always so sullen!" bellowed Captain Morn.

"Nope, I'm just not feeling up to it," he said. In the back of his mind, Auron could not shake the feeling that something was wrong and although Lullaby was neck deep in her 2nd or so dozen of drinks, every now and then they'd lock eyes and exchange a knowing glance.

Cain remained completely unaware of what was going on and despite prodding by Auron to pay attention; he was too busy having a good time. Their situation remained that way until he bumped into a young man by accident and the man was too weak to stand up so he fell over.

"Oops," said Cain as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "My bad man. Here let me help you to a seat."

At the sound of the word seat, the man's eyes wide in fear. "No sir, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'll keep partying."

"What that's crazy," continued Cain. "It looks like I might have actually hurt you if you can barely stand. Take a seat."

"Please!" he cried. "Let me keep partying!"

"Cain," began Auron.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," said Cain. "Hey Captain Morn, I think I want to take a break."

"Sounds good to me," said the pirate captain. "I'll get some food."

"And I want this guy to join us," added Cain.

The party went dead silent and the tension which had been slowly building for Auron and Lullaby became real very quickly. They watched as the pirate crew began readying themselves.

"I don't think you have to worry about," The captain said. "He'll be taken care of."

"Sounds good," said Cain as he began to usher the man down the stairs. "But I think I'd like to personally see to it that he's taken care of."

"Hey Wako brat!" called Captain Morn. "Stop the bullshit. You figured it out already."

Cain wrinkled his nose in frustration. "The recurring theme of the day seems to be 'listen to my friends'. How many people here are being held against their will?"

"All," the captain spat out.

"They're free now," said Cain and he turned to keep ushering the man down the stairs.

"Wako brat, if you keep moving I'll slaughter all of them," Morn said.

His words brought Cain to a halt and seemingly brought a chill down his spine. "I'll stop you before then," Cain said as he began moving towards Captain Morn.

Captain brought a transponder snail out of his pocket and with a triumphant laugh he asked, "How do you plan on saving the slaves on other islands before my crew kills them?"

Cain halted in his steps with his eyes wide in shock, he hadn't considered that possibility.

"Hahaha," laughed the pirate captain. "You think I haven't heard about you? The wako pirate with a crew of nobodies getting in the Asuachi's way. You're a fool if you think nobodies noticed what you've been up to."

Before another word was exchanged, Amber could be heard over the transponder snail yelling at someone and a grin crossed Cain's face.

In an instant he was before Captain Morn with his fist cocked back. "I guess we'll see how my crew of nobodies holds up. Wako's Light Punch!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Special Thanks to:**

**To all of you for your patience, ideas and support.**

Ok, so this chapter was much shorter than any other for this story so far, but I'm working up to still getting in the hang of things. My apologies for that and I hope to improve in the future.

If you have any questions on anything or a critique, feel free to message (Hopefully it works). I looked back over reviews they honestly made me laugh so much for some reason. I'm glad that people were enjoying this story and want to make this a story we'll all enjoy.

Thanks for reading guys.


	11. What About The Third Island

**Author Note:** So I'm back. As many of you know, my luck on the tech side of things has been rather poor the last two years. For the first time in a long time I have a steady means to write and access to all the plans from my old devices. However, there's been such a long gap in updates that I fell into the same hole as the last time. But I don't think it'd be fair to address it in the same way as last time, so I've decided to do recaps of what had been going on so far in The Brightholt Chroincles, The Most Free and Red Mirror. So if you happen to be new to these stories and are confused as to why you're reading something you just read, the reason is to recap all those who've been following since the beginning. We'll start light and try to work our way back. Without further ado…

**Recap: **Our band of misfits had wandered into the territory of the Captain Morn and the Broken Sun Pirates. The Troika Isles. Upon reaching there, Cain unknowingly stepped over Amber's feelings and was on his way to enjoy the thrills of the second island which looked like a huge party. Amber and Zak had broken off from the main group to check the first island for supplies and maps and stumbled across a large amount of slaves. Losing himself to his anger, Zak freed them and blindly slaughtered their captors. At the same time, Cain, Lullaby and Auron had been enjoying the party and Captain Morn's company, but were forced to confront him and his crew once it became clear that all the party goers on the island were captives.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 7:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

Complete defeat. That was the feeling for the Broken Sun Pirates that were alive on the third island. The island which the group hadn't managed to get to, had coincidentally been cut off communicationally from the others since earlier and no one had a clue. While the other two islands were locked in combat, the third island was nearly commandeered by a Marine ship which had sailed onto the island in secret.

"Answer me! Anyone answer me! We need help! I can't get away from the ink!" screamed a pirate into a transponder snail before he slipped in a ink.

His eyes scanned his surroundings in fear. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a hand arose from behind him and pinned his face to the ground stifling his screams before he went silent. With all the pirates seemingly defeated a woman arose from the ink to survey the damage.

"Okay!" she called in the direction of her ship. Immediately several marines marched off the ship. "Escort all the slaves on this island over to the ship and we'll take a smaller boa over to the next island. Be sure to set the transponder jammer."

"Yes Captain Sumi," said the Marine.

In the distance she could hear her subordinates talking about how powerful she was because of her logia fruit. It honestly made her slightly happy to hear people finally acknowledging her skill. That had been part of the reason she opted to take on this infiltration mission.

The captain continued to survey the battlefield as the ink dripped off her captain's coat which covered her white gi and black hakama.

Her long black hair hung a few inches away from the ground and just like her wooden sandals there were a few stubborn drops refusing to go away.

"Well what do we have here?" said a man's deep voice.

Captain Sumi's eyes calmly darted in its direction to find a seven foot tall mass of wiry muscle. Hung over his back was a sword which had to be even longer than he was tall. One grin from the coffee colored man assured Captain Sumi that he'd be a serious opponent despite his missing right arm.

The captain stepped out in front of him and called to her subordinates to ensure the safety of the slaves before turning her full attention to the man before her.

"My name is Sumi. I am a captain of the marines."

"The name's Tegami Ide, a member of Morn's Pirates and I'd prefer we cut the chit chat."

With that, she was off. She slipped back into her ink and quickly emerged behind Tegami, but the one armed swordsman ducked, drew his blade and spun it around all in one motion.

Out of habit the logia user dodged the slice by jumping and at the same time she generated a glob of ink in her left hand. "Ink Hammer!" she called out condensing it into the form of a large hammer before bringing it down as she landed.

The swordsman rolled away before coming to a kneel, narrowly sharing the fate of the smashed earth beside him. "Piasuhōn!" called Tegami as he lunged forward at the captain. She dropped the hammer and simply let the attack pass through her, grabbing onto it once she was sure the shock of what had happened was clear to Tegami.

"Damn logia user," he grinned.

"I thought you didn't want to talk," said Sumi before pulling him in, forcing him to let go of the blade. "Ink spiders."

Several purplish spiders arose from the ink and began crawling towards Tegami.

"I'd surrender now."

"Ha. You think no sword means I've lost?" he yelled back.

He raised up his right leg and while bringing it down yelled, "Kurikettokiku!"The tremendously large man smashed through floor instantly freeing up large rocks and then with little effort punted one at Sumi.

The captain dodged, but took her eyes off Tegami. In that instant he leapt at her with another rock in hand. On instinct she retreated into the ink, leaving the large blade behind.

Tegami quickly picked up the blade and turned around to face Sumi once more. His face was stuck in a gleeful state.

"You're happy about this?" she asked as she came out of the ink again.

"Of course," he began. "This is the kind of fight I've been hoping for."

"That's enough," said Sumi. "I've wasted enough time here."

The ink beneath Tegami's feet quickly began enwrapping them. Immediately he jumped to get away, but he was unable to notice Sumi having already reformed a hammer. At the last moment he blocked with his giant sword, but was knocked down to the ink, where this time it successfully entangled him. It began to squeeze at his body and eventually he dropped his sword.

"I don't mean anything personally by this, but I can't risk you breaking free and attacking my men on the ship," said Sumi as she raised the hammer over Tegami's arm.

"Damn it. I hate when people hold back while fighting me," Tegami cursed.

Then with a single swing she brought the giant hammer down on his arm.

* * *

**March 24, XX99, 7:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

Amber and Zak were staring down a woman who looked incredibly distraught.

"I think you made her angry," Amber said with a shrug.

"Good. She's gonna end up like her crewmates in a second," added Zak.

"Crewmates!" squealed Morn's Wife. "Who cares about them? I'll be busy dragging each and everyone of these vermin back into the their cells is the real problem!"

"Geez lady. You're making it too easy to dislike you," said Amber.

"Not like it mattered at this point," growled Zak.

He leapt at her and the woman's sais could be heard clanging against his claws. It was clear she was a step above the other crewmates, able to easily counter each and every swing zak threw.

"They're even in speed?" Amber questioned in disbelief.

"I believe not," said Jabari. "It would appear Zak has an upper hand."

Jabari was right, little by little Zak was pushing her back. Each swing forced her to guard and retreat and the onslaught showed no signs of stopping.

Unaware of her surroundings she backed into a tree and Zak moved to pierce his target with even more force. With her back against the wall Morn's wife was forced to block the claw with both sais, but that left her open for an attack from his other claw.

As the claw closed in, her look of shock turned to one of excitement and Zak reacted reflexively.

In that instant, something restrained his arms and freed up her sai which quickly aimed for his head. The blade was now plunged deep into his shoulder.

"Ha!" she jeered. "All that talk gone in an instant and in its place a look that I love so much. Are you angry? Are you confused? I'll show you. Don't worry."

From her arm, vines began to extend and grow. "I ate the Vine-Vine fruit," she said triumphantly.

Zak quickly cut through vines and retreated.

"Are you okay?" asked Jabari.

"I'm fine," seethed Zak.

"We should work together," added Amber. "She won't be much of an opponent if we take her on together."

"Oh? What was that little girl?" said the pirate. With a flick of her wrist, the vines grew more and more and soon headed towards the slaves.

Zak's eyes went wide. "We've got to do something!" he yelled before taking off to cut the vines at the source.

He swung at them, but was quickly blocked by his opponent's sais. With the vines seemingly growing off her body, she was free to defend them with her weapons.

At the same time Amber had taken off towards the slaves and was quickly lopping off the vines as they grew with her bisento.

"Oh the little girl is good," teased Morn's wife as she grew more and more vines out of her body.

She had them both stuck in a loop. Amber constantly cutting vines that were regrowing and Zak being block from cutting them at the source. Both of them growing more and more tired until Jabari flew in and clawed at the pirate's eyes. It bought them both a couple seconds, but that was more than enough.

Zak's pierced her stomach, instantly stopping the flow of vines and allowing Amber to begin to head back to them.

The pirate screamed in pain. "How dare you?! Overgrow!"

Vines shot out of her and entangled themselves forming an even thicker vine, but this vine quickly wrapped itself around Zak's throat. "That's it! Die! Die!"

No matter how he tried, his claws couldn't cut through the thick vines. Slowly the lack of air was clouding his vision.

"Not today!" yelled Amber and with one downward swing she cut the vine.

"What?! How?!" yelled Morn's wife.

"A weapon made especially for people like you," said Amber before slashing into her opponent.

**March 24, XX99, 7:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Troika Isles**

The Broken Sun Pirates stood in awe as their captain had been sent flying in one hit. Morn had crashed into a buffet table and then down to a lower floor.

"Everyone's coming us," Cain said to Wally.

The tall man looked down at Cain and was unnerved.

"Like hell they will," came Captain Morn's voice shocking. His voice surprised Cain who hadn't figured Morn to be such a sturdy guy. "This is my island and if you want to do something about, do it over my dead body. Take them!"

With the order Wally's gun was drawn and aimed at Cain's face. As he pulled the trigger, his hand was quickly deflected forcing him to miss. He glared down at what had stopped him to find a white haired woman smiling at him gleefully.

"Burrrrrrp! You know it would have been a good party," burped Lullaby.

Wally drew another gun and just as he fired, she dipped to her right knocking the barrel down again and forcing a miss.

"We could do this all day," she both giggled and burped.

"Ahh! Die!" he yelled before aiming both guns and firing. Both shots missed and within the smoke he saw Lullaby split on the floor drinking out of a flask.

"You're not a very good shot, are you?"

Auron had resigned to keeping the other crewmates off his companions. As someone tried to interfere he'd intercept them, but Cain had made his way over to Morn.

"These people are going," said Cain.

"I already said they could. As soon as I'm dead," Morn shot back.

Cain readied his fist once more and fire off his grandfather's Light Punch. Only this time, Morn seemed to take the punch.

"It's not a hard trick to follow once you've seen it up close," he said. Directly behind them, a fist sized hole was blown through the deck as Morn revealed he'd simply caught it. "If I avoid the fist at the last second you're wide open. Heated clasp!"

Morn's body quickly heated up to insane temperatures forcing Cain to yell out in pain. "I've eaten the Heat-Heat Fruit. And you're right in my grasp. How long til I burn that arm off?"

"Void-Strike!"

The slashing attack forced Morn to let go of Cain and retreat.

"Come on Cain," said Auron. "He hasn't seen real heat until he's trained as a Wako."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I'm glad to be back and writing this again. As I mentioned, this arc which was originally supposed to be much longer, will now be much shorter. For the submissions I received for Morn's crew other than those that have shown up, these OCs will be re-purposed by me and put forward into coming arcs. I'm actually really excited for some of their story arcs. So if you see your OC and think they didn't belong there or deserved more screen time, don't worry it will be coming. While on the topic of OCs, I have quite a few already, so for now OC submissions are closed.

**OC Credit:**

1) Tegami Ide - Ogrespi

**Thanks for reading everyone.**


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